Delicata wines were awarded two gold medals at the 2014 International Oenological Competition Emozioni dal Mondo Merlot e Cabernet Insieme held last week in Bergamo, Italy.
The competition, which celebrated its 10th anniversary, only judges wines made from the three red grape varieties Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The two gold medal-winning Delicata red wines are the 2012 Gran Cavalier barrel-matured Merlot DOK Malta Superior and the 2013 Medina Cabernet Franc DOK Malta Superior. These were won alongside other prestigious gold medal-winning producers such as the famed Italian Chianti winemaker Tenuta Vicchiomaggio in Tuscany and the French Chateau Mondorion which is a St Emilion Grand Cru.
Sergio Cantoni, the director of the competition, said: “Since OIV regulation states that only the 30 per cent of the samples could be awarded, we had to set the medal rate really high this year. Furthermore another valuable feature of Emozioni dal Mondo Merlot e Cabernet Insieme is that this international oenological competition has the highest rate between the number of tasters and the number of samples”.
The majority of samples entered were produced outside Italy
This year’s competition evaluated 210 wine samples from 20 different wine-producing countries, and the judging was carried out by 93 international judges coming from 23 countries. And for the first time since its inception back in 2005, “the majority of samples entered were produced outside Italy,” Cantoni stated.
To be awarded a gold medal, the wine has to receive at least 85 points from the judges, out of a possible 100.
The competition is organised by the Vignaioli Bergamaschi SCA, sponsored by the Organisation Internationale de la Vigne et du Vin (OIV) and authorised by the Italian Ministry for Agriculture, Food and Forestry Policies, with specific scientific collaboration from the Interuniversity Centre for Winegrowing and Enology of Verona, the Degree in Winemaking and Enology at the university of Udine and the Winegrowing Institute of the Università del Cuore of Piacenza.
These latest two gold medals are the ‘crowning glory’ on what has been a great first solo vintage for winemaker Matthew Delicata. In his first year going-it-alone, he has picked up 10 awards from the wines he made: two gold, four bronze, three commendations and one gran menzione, all coming from prestigious wine competitions held in Bordeaux, London, Verona and now Bergamo. This brings Delicata’s total international medal count up to an impressive 94 awards.