According to the Decanter website, Fratelli chardonnay gets a Commendation and 2-stars while the Sahyadari Valley, Nashik Hills, Zampa Reserve gets a 3-star rating and a Bronze Medal-seemingly a very confusing system, considering the Awards already give the coveted gold, silver and bronze medals, followed by the commendations. There are also Regional Trophy Awards and the International Trophies.
In an article written for the 50th issue of Upprercrust to be released soon, I had included Fratelli Chardonnay 2011 as one of ‘My Top Fifty Favourite’ wines. My Notes give the reasoning, ‘Fratelli Chardonnay 2011- During my visit to the winery last year, I tasted all their wines-I was also perhaps the first one to taste there top dog ‘Sette’ as it was being bottled, but I realized after my visit that at every opportunity I was a drinking and asking for more Chardonnay. Fully concentrated and characterized by apply and crispy, complex flavours from the low yielding crop, it salivates your mouth yearning for more.’
In the case of Zampa their Soiree Brut Rosé 2010 was the ultimate for me based on the visit a couple of months ago and even last year, when I took the members of the Delhi Wine Club to Nashik for winery visits. Zampa Reserve 2010 is a blend of a selection of Shiraz, Grenache and Tempranillo from their own estate while for other wines the grapes are mostly bought from the farmers on a long term contract. A full-bodied wine with spices and loads of fruit was resting in the barriques when I visited the winery but the taste was already delicious with a full mouthfeel and showed a lot of promise and aging potential. It will be a good addition to the quality red wines from the Indian stable.
In 2011 only Sula Sauvignon had won a Silver Medal, which was quite an achievement in the international arena.
Decanter Awards are highly coveted like the International Wine Challenge for producers focusing on the UK market, just as MundusVini is for the German market and Vinitaly is for the Italian market. Those seeking their fortunes in the European market in general, enter the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles held in a different country every year- Slovakia is the next year’s venue.
With 14,119 wines tasted from 47 countries these are record entries for the Decanter World Wine Award. New Zealand had the distinction of having 92% of wines entered receiving an award, followed closely by UK wineries which had 89% of their samples winning a medal. Despite the economic crisis Greek winemakers might be in a slightly better mood today knowing that 72% of all wines they entered this year received an award. Their neighbouring Turkey saw 83% of its wines receive an award, with Slovenia and Croatia having a ‘success’ rate of 77% and 63% respectively.
China increased its medal tally from 11 last year to 18 this year, with the increase being mostly in the Commended category.
The Awards should give a boost to the sales of Fratelli and Zampa which already has a tie-up with the retailer Waitrose for one of its red wines. Fratelli has recently tied up with Novum Wines in UK for export through this company already importing the Sula wines exclusively.
Full results are available on the Decanter stand at the LWIF and at http://www.decanter.com/dwwa/2012/
Subhash Arora |