Conti Zecca at the Oscars: two new wins at the Gambero Rosso Berebene Awards 2014

Producers Conti Zecca are proud to be the winners of two Oscars at the prestigious Gambero Rosso Berebene Awards 2014.

FIANO CONTI ZECCA 2012 wins NATIONAL OSCAR for QUALITY/PRICE 

CANTALUPI RISERVA 2010 wins OSCAR for QUALITY/PRICE

The prestigious Berebene (drink well) guide is published by Gambero Rosso, the leading authority on the food and wine sector in Italy and a key reference for international tasters and visitors to the country from around the world.

Berebene seeks to identify and award “wines with a strong personality, representative of their own territory and which have a good quality/price ratio”.

The NATIONAL OSCAR is assigned to excellent wines which have the best quality/price ratio. 

Winning the National Oscar for quality and price for their Fiano Conti Zecca 2012 was a proud moment not only for the winery, but for the whole of the region of Puglia. This is the first time that a white wine from the area has been awarded such a prize.

Decanter Panel Tasting: Vintage Champagne - Pierre Paillard, Bouzy Grand Cru 2004

This month our Pierre Paillard Bouzy Grand Cru 2004 is mentioned as 'recommended' in the Decanter Vintage Champagne Panel Tasting - January 2014 Edition, p.70...

The panel of tasters - Michael Edwards, Nancy Gilchrist MW and Ronan Sayburn MS, give the Paillard Bouzy Grand Cru '04 the following tasting notes:

"Very fruit forward with notes of lemon curd and zest. The palate has melon flavours and is clean and youthful."

Points awarded: 16 (86)

Drink: 2016-2020

91+ Parker Points for De Stefani 1624

eRobertParker.com awards the 2008 De Stefani Stefen 1624 with 91+ points.







Here's what the review from eRobertParker.com said:

"The 2008 Stefen 1624 pays homage to the winery's founding De Stefani family (spelled "Stefen" in old Italian) that traces its lineage back to the year 1642. This is an exciting and impressive effort. Marzemio grapes are harvested at the end of October and subsequently air-dired to increase their sugar concentration. After fermentation, the wine is aged in barrique for 36 months. It opens to a bright garnet-ruby colour and pristine aromas of small berry, dried currant and cherry cola. Drink 2015-2022.

De Stefani's wines offer new tastes from an eccentric selection of mostly indigenous Italian grapes. Today. Alessandro De Stefani manages the estate and represents the fourth generation of this winemaking family to do so. If you are passionate about Italian native grapes like Raboso and Marzemino these are definitely worth seeking out."

Cederberg Private Cellar scoops top awards at SAWi (South African Wine Index)

Peter du Toit from Cederberg reports:

 

During holiday season, you might find yourself around the dinner table discussing your favourite wine of the year. Soon enough discussions will become heated and propensity to agree will wane.

Day 3 Southern Rhone, By Jason Busby

Just two estates but quite far apart and another two favourites of mine as well as Bancroft for over a decade.

Yves Gras of Domaine Santa Duc, Gigondas and other appellations. What can I say? Biting wind whistling down the valley when we arrived (maybe the Mistral) at the quaint homestead on the outskirts of Gigondas with Yves's new Eco friendly tasting room and office looking more like a space station next to the 18th century farm house, actually doesn't look out of place.