Sicily & Sardinia - White
There were far fewer white entries than reds from Sicily and Sardinia - yet the fact that the biancos picked up more places on the Gold List than the rossos should tell you most of what you need to know about the quality.
This was a strong range of wines, from cheap to expensive: fresh, interesting wines around £7-10, more complex offerings from £10-14 and a few genuinely good wines a bit higher up the price scale
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There were few complaints from our tasters – maybe the odd wine a bit over-oaked, masking the grape variety; pricing not quite as affordable as everyone would have liked. But these were really only minor quibbles in what was a great place for somms to go looking for interesting, versatile wines.
Very well done to Curatolo Arini, too. Its Gagliardetta was the first ever Zibibbo to get a Critics’ Choice in SWA.
From The Tasting Teams
‘It was nice to see wines with great balance and approachability. They generally had the right amount of freshness and were stylistically different.’ Charlie Young, team leader
‘Sicily is trendy at the moment and prices reflect that. If you want a decent wine, you probably won’t find one for less than £11.’ Mattia Mazzi, The River Cafe
‘Very elegant, refreshing, herbal wines.’ Andre Luis Martins, team leader
‘Sicily is a very exciting region that should be on a lot more lists. It offers excellent quality, features solid winemaking and has reasonable value for money.’ Angela Reddin, team leader
‘Sometimes the winemaker work with too much oak, masking the individual varieties rather than letting them speak for themselves. There’s a fine line between a little bit and overkill.’ Harry Crowther, Grape Times UK
‘I taste and sell quite a lot of Sicilian and Sardinian wines. There’s lots of value, and the premium wines shouldn’t be overlooked.’ Oliver Zelenczuk, London Shell Co
‘I think, overall, I found the entry-level wines the most interesting here, with clean fruit and good balance and weight.’ Gaetano Giangaspero, C&C