Delicata’s 2013 vintage Medina Rosé Grenache has been awarded a bronze medal at the 38th Challenge International du Vin, held recently in Bourg, on the outskirts of Bordeaux in France.

This most prestigious event is the largest international wine competition held in the country. It is certified to ISO 9001 standards, which testifies the established high-quality approach used in its organisation and the application of rigorous technical standards.

The Challenge International du Vin was set up in 1976 and is organised by the Concours des Vins (according to the law of 1901), which is both independent and non-profit-making.

More than 5,000 wines from around 38 countries are tasted over two days by some 800 wine professionals and expert consumers at the competition, which is held in spring.

Tasting takes place over two mornings, with each jury tasting two series of 12 wines. This takes place in closed rooms under the supervision of three commissioners.

Each ‘wine quartet’ comprises qualified tasters with different and complementary profiles from across the wine sector, representing the vinification chain right through to the consumer level. The quartets are selected according to their oenological skills vis-à-vis the wines to be tasted.

Technicians include oenologists, viticultural technicians and viticultural lecturers; distributors include wine brokers, wine merchants, wine waiters and cellarmen; buyers include connoisseurs, amateurs with a university diploma in wine-tasting and members of wine clubs; and producers include winegrowers, vineyard managers, winemakers and oenology students.

This most prestigious event is the largest international wine competition held in France

This latest bronze medal brings Delicata’s international medal count up to an impressive 86 awards.

The 2013 vintage Medina Rosé is made entirely from Malta-grown Grenache Noir grapes, all handpicked from selected family-run vineyards.

This pale pink, superior, dry rosé wine is packed with ripe fruit flavours with a taste evocative of fresh strawberries and raspberries. It is delicate and refreshing and, when served chilled, makes the perfect aperitif or accompaniment to poultry, seafood pasta dishes, summer salads and most seafood dishes, especially those that include fresh langoustine and tasty Mediterranean prawns.

Relatively speaking, the Grenache Noir is a fairly recent addition to the Maltese viticultural scene. It was introduced to the islands by Delicata in 1994, just 20 years ago.

This French Rhone Valley varietal is most famously used in red wines such as Côtes du Rhone and Chateauneuf du Pape, but further south in Provence it produces some of the best rosé wines in the world.

In Malta, it is used to make red wines but it is usually blended in lighter-bodied reds such as the Medina Syrah Carignan Grenache. However, the Malta-grown Grenache grape really comes into its own when it is used to produce rosé wines. The wines have a good level of acidity, achieve good, natural alcohol levels and are packed with concentrated red berry fruit flavours, resulting in some of the finest rosé wines in the Mediterranean basin.