Home Winners > Winners 2019 > ITALY: North-West - White (including Gavi)

Winner Details

Italy: North-West - White, including Gavi

2019 GOLD: 6      SILVER: 7      BRONZE: 5      COMMENDED: 10
2018 GOLD: 4      SILVER: 4      BRONZE: 1      COMMENDED: 8

North-west Italy. Mostly Gavi. Mostly cheap, you might think. And in the past, you’d probably have been right. The wine style has (understandably) been our main medal winner here. But this year you’d be wrong on several counts.

First, the majority of our (record number) of white medals were not Gavis, while the prices of the latter tended to be fairly chunky. We did get sub-£10 wines sent in, but only one (GIV’s Gold winner) got a medal.

Tasters liked what they were seeing, though. And the more ambitious (usually oaked) wines were generally seen as worth the money, rather than egotistical show-offs that were trying too hard to impress. Some even suggested they might be a good alternative to white Burgundy.

FROM THE TASTING TEAMS

‘These are good for getting people that might have drunk Pinot Grigio a few years ago, but want more complexity and acidity now.’ Joseph Lunn, Suave Wine

‘I expected more fresh mint notes and acidity from the region.’ Chiara Sieni, Bottles Group

‘The most expensive Gavi was like the Puligny Montrachet of Gavi. I really liked it. It shows what you can do with that grape.’ Savvas Symeonidis, Gymkhana Restaurant

‘There was definitely nothing to write home about here. The prices were good, but it’s not a hole that needs filling on a list.’ Sarah Jane Evans MW, team leader

‘I think Italy has more to offer. I would normally stick to Pinot Grigio and Gavi, or even international varieties that show typicity and Italian winemaking skills that make them different to Sancerre or Chablis.’ Matteo Cali, Savoy Grill

‘Gavi is a really good, balanced, easy-drinking white that goes with light food, and is a pleasant change to its French alternatives because it has more minerality. It’s creeping back into favour.’ Antoin UaRuairc, UK Midland Sommelier

Award winners

Found 28 wines

Italy: North-west, White including Gavi

Fontanassa, Gavi di Gavi, Rovereto 2017, Piedmont, Italy

Gold medal winner

Sue Jones of The Harrow at Little Bedwyn saw Gold here, with its ‘sweet and sour notes, and with some creaminess, too, giving it some interesting weight’, while The Glasshouse’s Adam Michocki found ‘peach, pear and apricot notes, with some steely, limestone minerality’. ‘Super-fresh and really fruity, and yet light and easy drinking, with a round finish,’ added an impressed Bianca Potenza of Bluespoon Andaz Hotel - Amsterdam, imagining it well paired with ‘chicken or light meat dishes’.

£14.17 Top Selection

Cà dei Frati, Brolettino, Lugana 2017, Lombardy, Italy

Gold medal winner

‘Fresh and elegant’ was team leader Andre Luis Martins’ take on this Gold winner, describing ‘some green apple and light camomile aromas, leading to some ripe mango notes and a long finish’. ‘Sweet pear aromas’ led, for fellow team leader Jade Koch, to ‘a juicy, ripe and very fleshy palate, with more peach on the finish – this would be great with baked fish dishes, or with risotto’.

£17.02 Liberty Wines

Ca' del Bosco, Chardonnay 2014, Lombardy, Italy

Gold medal winner

‘Youthful and charming,’ began Texture’s Alan Bednarski as judges declared this a Gold, going on to describe ‘fantastic crunchy peach with well-balanced, generous French oak, and complex brioche and melted butter balancing the fresh limestone minerality and beautiful floral finish’. For The Glasshouse’s Adam Michocki it was ‘complex, with a pronounced intensity’ with notes of ‘lemon, lime, yellow grapefruit, melon and pomelo, as well some white rose petals, and a touch oak to it, too’.

£54.00 Berkmann Wine Cellars

Pratello, Catulliano Lugana 2018, Lombardy, Italy

Gold medal winner

‘Really showing typicity, with a pronounced grassy and herbaceous nose, leading to a refreshing palate with some good acidity,’ said Matteo Cali of Savoy Grill as this was elevated to Gold, while team leader Andre Luis Martins appreciated its ‘gentle, perfumed peach aromas, some spice notes, and a lingering finish’. Bianca Potenza of Bluespoon Andaz Hotel - Amsterdam added further praise for its ‘approachable style, with stone fruit and some herbaceous notes, too’.

£10.45 Berkmann Wine Cellars

Ca’ Bianca, Gavi 2017, Piedmont, Italy

Gold medal winner

‘All you want!’ began an enthusiastic Sue Jones of The Harrow at Little Bedwyn about this worthy Gold winner, calling it ‘proper Gavi, steely and mineral, with wet stone notes’. Gymkhana Restaurant’s Savvas Symeonidis went on to admire its ‘excellent intensity and purity of fruit’, while Adam Michocki of The Glasshouse thought its ‘pronounced intensity and classic style, with peaches, pears, apricot and great minerality’ made it ‘a very approachable wine’.

£9.53 Matthew Clark

Rovellotti, Il Criccone, Colline Novaresi 2017, Piedmont, Italy

Gold medal winner

One of a pair of Gold medals for Rovellotti Viticoltori in Ghemme in this year’s competition, this was described as a ‘citrus-driven wine’ by Juan Manuel Marcos Perez of The Gilbert Scott, while Francisco Macedo of Cliveden House identified ‘notes of red apple, as well as grapefruit’. ‘A fun wine,’ summarised team leader Laurent Richet MS, who particularly enjoyed ‘a salted caramel note’.

£12.10 Mondial Wine

Fontanassa, Ca' Adua, Gavi 2017, Piedmont, Italy

Silver medal winner

Team leader Tom Forrest was impressed by the complexity in this wine, with its ‘crisp lemon notes, as well as some white pepper’, going on to describe a palate with ‘some creaminess and almond nuttiness, as well as a drying, mineral finish’.

£11.67 Top Selection

Ottella, Le Creete, Lugana 2017, Lombardy, Italy

Silver medal winner

Team leader Jade Koch found this ‘chalky, with a bell pepper and pear drop character, and a little grip on the finish’, while Giuseppe Longobardi of The Cross Kenilworth, Simpsons & Edgbaston appreciated its ‘lovely aromatic structure, with apple and pineapple notes, and a palate that’s fresh, with some lemon’.

£17.50 Enotria&Coe

Ottella, Back to Silence 2017, Lombardy, Italy

Silver medal winner

‘Pink grapefruit aromas lead to some baked apple notes, with a palate that’s rich and complex, with a long, lemony finish,’ thought Chiara Sieni of Bottles Group, while team leader Jade Koch appreciated its ‘intense orange blossom aromas, and an attractive, silken texture’.

£18.00 Enotria&Coe

Ottella, Molceo, Lugana Riserva 2015, Lombardy, Italy

Silver medal winner

‘Complex, long and fascinating,’ began team leader Sarah Jane Evans MW, who went on to describe a wine that was ‘plump and fleshy, with notes of greengage, gooseberry and green herbs’, while Savoy Grill’s Matteo Cali enjoyed ‘herbaceous aromas of fresh grass and asparagus, leading to a fresh palate and a long finish’.

£18.90 Enotria&Coe

Nunzio Ghiraldi, Sant'Onorata 1953, Lugana 2016, Lombardy, Italy

Silver medal winner

‘Gunpowder and graphite on the nose, followed by ripe apple and honey on the palate – a well-balanced wine with some great acidity,’ thought Chiara Sieni of Bottles Group, while Joseph Lunn of Suave Wine appreciated its ‘interesting fruit, like honeydew melon and cantaloupe, as well as some citrus’.

£15.78 Winetraders

Lunae, Etichetta Nera, Colli di Luni Vermentino 2018, Liguria, Italy

Silver medal winner

‘An intense nose of herbs, thyme and lavender,’ began Chiara Sieni of Bottles Group. ‘Elderflower, rose and peach aromas lead to a complex and aromatic palate, with a sweet finish – a good alternative to Alsace or Mosel when pairing with curry,’ added Giuseppe Longobardi of The Cross Kenilworth, Simpsons & Edgbaston.

£17.00 Armit

Negro, Onorata Langhe Favorita 2017, Piedmont, Italy

Silver medal winner

‘Refreshing and light, with some interesting peach fruit, as well as some grip, all leading to a bright, silken finish,’ thought team leader Jade Koch. ‘Crisp and fresh,’ agreed Bianca Potenza of Bluespoon Andaz Hotel - Amsterdam, who described ‘green-apple fruit and a smokiness too’.

£11.70 Enotria&Coe

Castel del Lupo, Della Ginestra, Pinot Grigio 2018, Lombardy, Italy

Bronze medal winner

‘Pronounced orange flowers on the nose, along with herbal, mint notes on the palate, leading to a lovely finish with persistent acidity,’ said Chiara Sieni of Bottles Group, while team leader Jade Koch found it ‘ight, fragrant and floral, with some sweet pear notes’.

£7.85 Boutinot

Pelassa, San Vito, Roero Arneis 2018, Piedmont, Italy

Bronze medal winner

‘Peach, pear and flowers on the nose,’ began Giuseppe Longobardi of The Cross Kenilworth, Simpsons & Edgbaston, going on to describe a palate that was ‘full, fresh and pétillant, with an intense finish that’s both spicy and aromatic – great with aromatic fish dishes’.

£10.47 Davy's Wine Merchants

Lunae, Etichetta Grigia, Colli di Luni Vermentino 2018, Liguria, Italy

Bronze medal winner

‘Peppery and aromatic, with some intense white flower aromas, as well as some pear and apple, leading to a palate that’s backed by good acidity,’ thought Savoy Grill’s Matteo Cali.

£12.50 Armit

Il Cascinone, Campo Fiorito, Chardonnay 2017, Piedmont, Italy

Bronze medal winner

‘Light and easy, with some camomile flower and honey, leading to good intensity on the palate, with some minerality, too,’ said Giuseppe Longobardi of The Cross Kenilworth, Simpsons & Edgbaston, while Joseph Lunn of Suave Wine found ‘lemon and peach aromas, with hints of apricot on the soft palate’.

£6.95 Boutinot

La Scolca, Black Label, Gavi dei Gavi 2017, Piedmont, Italy

Bronze medal winner

‘Vibrant, with a zippy palate, and fresh acidity,’ began Sunaina Sethi of JKS Restaurants, further describing ‘elegant stone fruit with some minerality, leading to a rounded and balanced finish’. ‘Delicious, with some great complexity,’ added Gymkhana Restaurant’s Savvas Symeonidis.

£24.90 Eurowines

Fontanassa, Marin Timorasso 2015, Piedmont, Italy

Commended medal winner

£17.81 Top Selection

Zenato, Sergio Zenato, Lugana Riserva 2016, Lombardy, Italy

Commended medal winner

£21.70 Eurowines

Olim Bauda, Gavi di Gavi 2017, Piedmont, Italy

Commended medal winner

£13.15 Alliance Wine

Morgassi Superiore, Volo, Gavi del Comune di Gavi 2017, Piedmont, Italy

Commended medal winner

£14.86 Bibendum

Ancilla, Ella, Lugana 2017, Lombardy, Italy

Commended medal winner

Vietti, Roero Arneis 2017, Piedmont, Italy

Commended medal winner

£16.18 Bibendum

Michele Chiarlo, Rovereto, Gavi del Commune di Gavi 2017, Piedmont, Italy

Commended medal winner

Araldica, Valle Berta, Gavi 2018, Piedmont, Italy

Commended medal winner

Santa Seraffa, Gavi del Comune di Gavi 2018, Piedmont, Italy

Commended medal winner

£9.95 Boutinot

La Battistina, Gavi 2018, Piedmont, Italy

Commended medal winner

£8.40 Boutinot