Rest of the Old World, including Romania, Croatia, Slovenia & Lebanon
2016 Gold: 2 Silver: 3 Bronze: 6 Commended: 6
2015 Gold: 0 Silver: 3 Bronze: 7 Commended: 4
As the likes of Greece, Hungary and Turkey have vacated this ‘Rest of the Old World’ section to strike out on their own, so other countries have moved in to take their place – the likes of Slovenia, Romania and, this year, Switzerland and Cyprus. It makes for an interesting array of styles to choose from, as well (often) as being a marker of which countries to look out for making progress next year.
The one constant is Lebanon, which, sadly, never seems quite to make enough of an impact to justify a category all of its own, and with which our tasters often struggle.
The combination of intense sunshine and high altitude in the Bekaa Valley often gives the reds a certain rusticity and generally means they don’t get past Silver medal status. You have to go back to 2013 to find the last time a Lebanese red made it on to the Gold List.
Nonetheless, it was heartening to see the interesting Sauv/Sem/Muscat/Viognier blend Ixsir make it on. It was (admittedly) expensive, but it’s also undeniably high quality and interesting. And, combined with one of the best-priced Sauvignon Blancs in this year’s competition from the Romanians, Daciana, it gave us a strong white pairing from this section.
Here’s hoping for a stronger showing from the reds in 2017.
FROM THE TASTING TEAMS
‘I feel a bit sorry for Lebanon, there’s one wine that dominates the market – Musar – but there’s a lot of potential there.’ Julian Bicknell, Hawksmoor Air Street
‘Some of the reds were beautiful. When you pay £10, you normally can’t expect this amount of personality.’ Bart Michalewicz, The Arts Club
‘The white wines seemed designed for a particular consumer who buys on taste profile; not a region, not a grape, just a profile.’ Peter McDaid, Spring
‘We had an excellent selection [of whites], we were quite unanimous: clean, fresh flavours and an interesting use of oak and acidity. The value was there, and that’s so important for wines of lesser-known regions.’ Mahesh Nair, Charlotte Street Hotel
‘No one goes into a restaurant specifically wanting a Lebanese wine.’ Emily Bonsor, consultant sommelier
‘I really enjoyed the whites overall. The price across the range was very good for the type of wine that you’re getting.’ Roger Jones, The Harrow at Little Bedwyn
‘I expect a little bit of rusticity from Lebanon, but there was too much of it here.’ Olivier Marie, team leader