Sicily & Sardinia - Red
Sicily, in particular, has really taken off in this competition. In the early years of SWA, we seemed to get a lot of rather big, over-oaked wines. But the island’s winemakers have stopped forcing the fruit, eased back on the wood, and the result is some wonderful bottles of wine.
Characterful, balanced, and often very well-priced, these are the kind of entries that our tasters love, and the drop in Golds this year compared to 2019 was more the result of some stringent judging than any fall-off in quality. There are a lot of very good wines in the medals here, many of them under £12.
It’s no exaggeration to say that it would be great if every section of SWA looked like this, with a lot of terrific, interesting wines right through the price bands. Apart from House wines, there are just about no parts of this competition where three-quarters of the Gold-Listed wines are under £10.
Well done to Colomba Bianca for picking up a Gold for the second year running. No small achievement in a crowded part of the competition.
From The Tasting Teams
‘Today’s flight put Sicily on the map – very consistent and seductive. It definitely showed the terroir and what Sicily is all about, from the most inexpensive to the most expensive. Superb wines.’ Emanuel Pesqueira, Edwardian Hotels London
‘These were savoury, delicious and well-priced for the quality and beyond. Food-friendly and restaurant-friendly. The smoke of barbecued meats would be excellent with the smokiness from the ash of the wines.’ Tim Smith, Winesurfer Consulting
‘I wasn’t expecting them to be very sophisticated, but some were.’ Tanguy Martin, Blandford Comptoir
‘A very impressive flight, with a variety of styles. I think generally over the past five to ten years the quality of winemaking in southern Italy has increased massively. They’re capable at any level of making really delicious wine.’ Martin Lam, team leader
‘The bottom end of the Nero d’Avolas was quite consistent – we found satisfying wines with ripe fruit. But there was some weird winemaking going on as you went higher in price.’ Claire Love, Loves Consultancy
‘These were excellent and well balanced. They’re really on-trade-friendly.’ Daniel Eriksen, Anglian Country Inns
‘A very good, balanced flight, though on a wine list it would be harder to sell the pricier wines because people would have similar choices from other countries.’ Agostinho Leite, Bistrot Pierre at The Royal William Yard