Rest of Spain
2019 GOLD: 5 SILVER: 5 BRONZE: 2 COMMENDED: 10
2018 GOLD: 1 SILVER: 5 BRONZE: 4 COMMENDED: 9
Taking in everywhere south of Madrid, plus various Spanish islands, this is a selection of entries that could politely be described as ‘eclectic’. It’s not uncommon for us to have a high number of entries here, and with style and quality varying so wildly, the kick-out rates in the first round of judging can be as brutal as the early stages of X Factor.
This year, our overall medal count was about what we’d expect, but our five Golds made it a pretty good year for the ‘rest of’ category; a feeling enhanced by the largely positive feedback from our tasting teams.
In a year where value for money was hard to find, our tasters really enjoyed tasting flights of wines where, once the faulty stuff had been weeded out, there was a strong range of entries under £8, and a £12 trade-up really got you something special.
Surely it’s only a matter of time before that Christmas number one and nationwide tour…
FROM THE TASTING TEAMS
‘It was exciting wine, and the value for money was really good. It’s nice to see some emerging small regions really explode and do well. They’ve learned what consumers want, but they’ve kept the typicity.’ Lionel Periner, team leader
‘In the past I’ve found the whites from this flight to be approachable, and an alternative for white Burgundy drinkers, but this time I was a bit disappointed. To me they were losing their texture, structure and character. The best could easily be listed at a gastropub, as an aperitif for a sunny day, but not for a restaurant wine list.’ Stefano Barbarino, Chez Bruce Restaurant
‘Over-extracted or oxidative or aromatically strange to start with, but around £12 the reds got better.’ Laurent Richet MS, team leader
‘The whites were slightly disappointing, with only a few that were outstanding. And more for a pub or gastropub than for a fine dining wine list.’ Annamaria Juhasz, The Fat Duck
‘You can expect very dry, very ripe fruits. But some of these winemakers know how to polish the corners.’ Carlos Ferreira, team leader
‘Great value-for-money wines. Almost all our medal-winning reds were under £8. Good for pubs or possible house reds.’ Adam Michocki, The Glasshouse