ONLY TWO ITALIAN WINE LABELS (GALATRONA 2004 FATTORIA DI PETROLO AND MONTEVETRANO 2004 MONTEVETRANO) HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED BY ALL FIVE TOP ITALIAN GUIDES: WINENEWS HAS THE PREVIEW

The Tuscan “Galatrona” 2004 from the Fattoria di Petrolo, and “Montevetrano” 2004 by Montevetrano in Campania are the only two “super wines” that have received a unanimous top-score rating from all of the most important Italian wine guides (Gambero Rosso-Slow Food, L'Espresso, Veronelli, Ais-Bibenda, Luca Maroni), according to the analysis made by www.winenews.it, one of the most referenced wine sites in Italy.

The curious result has been deduced by a simple cross examination of the wines that have been classified in the top five Italian wine guides - Gambero Rosso/Slow Food (with 285 wines that entered into the "Tre Bicchieri" rating), L'Espresso (131"Cinque Bottiglie"), Veronelli (468 "Super Tre Stelle"), Ais-Bibenda (292 "Cinque Grappoli"), Luca Maroni (836 "Vini-Frutto") – which clearly do not specify in any detail how and why their teams of tasters chose the wines that they chose. This data has changed since the 2006 judgings (in which there was a total of 8 “super wines”). In 2007, only two wines managed to receive top ratings from all of the guides. Both are considered highly “artisanal”, and are “signed” by some of the most famous enologists in Italy: the Tuscan, Carlo Ferri, creator of Galatrona, and Umbrian, Riccardo Cotarella, for Montevetrano.

Galatrona (8,000 bottles) is a pure Merlot produced by Fattoria di Petrolo, and Montevetrano (30,000 bottles) from Umbria is obtained with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and a small addition of Aglianico.
”It is striking that only two wines were considered the top in all of the guides” - declared the team from www.winenews.it - “and that the best tasters from the ‘Bel Paese’ converged in such a limited way, a true drop in the bucket among all of the Italian wines that, even according to their own opinions, should be given a very high qualitative rating. Data that seems to be penalizing for Italian wine”.


WineNews Comments: “Is it possible that objective evaluating criteria does not exist?”

That only two “super wines” got universal approval in the 2007 editions of all five of the most important Italian wine guides, is truly a scarce result, much lower than that of 2006 in which eight wines achieved “super” status: Gaja Langhe "Sorì San Lorenzo" 2001, Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino "Cerretalto" 1999, Gianni Masciarelli Montepulciano d'Abruzzo "Villa Gemma" 2001, Oasi degli Angeli "Kurni" 2003, Galardi "Terra di Lavoro" 2003, Montevetrano "Montevetrano" 2003, Luciano Sandrone Barolo "Cannubi Boschis" 2001, Foradori "Granato" 2003.
It is a complex issue that is rarely discussed among sector workers. Evidently, there exists a “modus operandi” among the various teams of tasters, who have different sensibilities, perceptions, and mental processes that allow them to express different judgments of the same wines, as, on the other hand, it continues to support the unavoidability of the adage "de gustibus non disputandum est”. But it is also true that to liquidate the judgment of these guides, in this case, would risk suppressing any possibility of comprehension.

Even with a reading that is not solely quantitative, this year’s result is still rather atypical. Tuscany and Campania are, without a doubt, two of the most important terroir for Italian wines, the first, representing the enological history of Italy, and the second, its dynamism. But where did the top location in absolute in Italy (that is the Lange) end up?

The two wines in question - of undoubtedly high orgnoleptic quality, capable also of expressing important characteristic qualities together with a strong connection to their territories of origin - are, however, unequivocally two IGT and the varietals that they are made of are prevalently “international” (the Montevetrano, that has Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Aglianico grapes, and Galatrona that is pure Merlot), varietals that have also been largely considered “out” and incapable of guaranteeing success on the market. Without succumbing to the thesis of those who preach the use of exclusively varietals of ancient cultivation - the “Taleban” style of using the Italian grape at all costs (and a position that we do not support and consider sterile and passè) - we must still ask why the overall judgment of the guides did not manage to converge on a wine obtained by one of our great varietals that are generally the envy of the rest of the world? And also, why wasn’t it possible to point unanimously towards one denomination?