20/10/2026
Ok, so this is for those who want to know more about our performance at the World Tasting Championship!
W**e #1. It was a Crémant du Luxembourg (sparkling) made with Auxerrois grapes. Vintage 2010.
Comment: 🤷🏻♂️ We called it a German Sekt, and we were not too far away. They always throw a wild card or two in the lineup, and this year it was the sparkling.
W**e #2. It was a South African Sauvignon Blanc from Stellenbosh.
Comment: 🎯 Perfect call. We were the only team guessing SA and we received a nice round of applause. The w**e was so green and grassy that we were between Chile (where these notes are typical) and South Africa. Our Matthew Delicata defended his call, and he was 100% spot on. 23 points, the absolute nuts.
W**e #3. It was a Riesling from Clare Valley (Australia)
Comment: 🌤️ We called it Riesling, but from Austria. We considered Australia for a while but the marker of an Australian Riesling is the lime, and it was not very pronounced. Also it was grippy and structured like an old world w**e. Still, good 13 points (grape and vintage).
W**e #4. Napa Chardonnay (California)
Comment: 🪵 We called it Chardonnay, but from Burgundy (France). It’s all about the wood. Yes, there was plenty but not an excess as sometimes happens with Napa w**es. The balance and the acidity were beautiful so we decided for a warm vintage Burgh (22). Meta tip: on this w**e refills were not available, so we thought it was likely to be a pretty expensive w**e, like a Meursault. But hey, the best in the world confused Napa for Burgundy at the Judgement of Paris, we can miss too. Still, 10 points.
At this point with a score of 46 after 4 w**es we were still in the top 5 positions.
W**e #5. Chenin Blanc from Loire (France).
Comment: 🤖 We talked ourselves out of our first impression which was the correct answer. For both Matthew and Rebecca Degaetano it was exactly a Loire Chenin. But then doubt crept in. The w**e was very aromatic, no trace of the typical waxiness and wet wool notes of the variety. The super high acidity got us back to a Riesling but from Germany. François Chidaine is an atypical, natural w**e producer. The w**e was awesome, but got us zero points.
W**e #6 A Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) from Baden (Germany)
Comment: 🎯 Boom. Perfect. A very grippy w**e that took us from Etna Rosso to obscure varieties, until we agreed to consider the obvious: a cool climate stemmy Pinot. We mentioned a few places until the captain (who can not taste) Marco Trucco suggested Germany as an option. And it felt right.
So: 20 points! (We missed the vintage by one year)
W**e #7 A Syrah from Crozes Hermitage (France).
Comment: 😱 This was completely unexpected. The w**e was extremely light bodied, almost no perceptible tannins, with the spiciest nose you can imagine. Something like the Italian Ruché, a Pelaverga or a Lacrima. Yes, spices are typical of Syrah, but this had none of the character of a Crozes. We called it Italy to cast a wide net over many possible varieties that fit the profile. We were seriously shocked to hear what it actually was. We got the vintage!
W**e #8 A Saint Emilion GC (France) with 70% Merlot.
Comment: 🤦♂️ From here, for some reason, we started obsessing over Argentina. We called it a Cabernet Sauvignon from Mendoza. This was our first true mistake. We talked ourselves again out of the first impression of a Bordeaux. Most teams scored aplenty, we scored zero. Ouch.
W**e #9 A Brunello di Montalcino from Tuscany (Sangiovese).
Comment: 😒 We called it Italy, but Barolo. Quite a rookie mistake on paper, but the w**e had a combination of colour, aromatics and firm tannin that took us to Piedmont. Even our Sangiovese expert Andrea Bomboklan could not believe it. We took 5 points but lots of teams scored full marks.
W**e #10 A Chinese Cabernet Sauvignon.
Comment: 👽 Yes, they gave us a chinese w**e. By pure miracle, we guessed the variety and we scored 10 points. Manuel Degiorgio described the w**e aroma perfectly: “red peppers roasted on barbecue” but there was no texture, body and tannin to support a typical Cabernet Sauvignon call.
W**e #11 A Monastrell from Jumilla (Spain)
Comment: 🍭What was that residual sugar in the w**e? There are not many big reds with such cooked, jammy, jelly notes and high alcohol. We were in Primitivo/Zinfandel territory and we called it as such. Monastrell/Mourvedre didn’t cross our mind, possibly also because we had just tasted several varietal Mourvedres from Southern Rhone with an opposite profile: light, crunchy, lovely. But of course in Spain the w**e is made in a different style.
W**e #12. A Sercial from Madeira (Portugal)
Comment: 👋 Well, by then we were not in contention for a top 10 finish anymore, but we quickly assessed the w**e as a Madeira based on the acidity and the nutty, oxydative profile. The call was all about the sugar level in the w**e because Madeira can be made with 6 different grape varieties and each produce a w**e in a different sweetness range. From medium dry to sweet: Sercial, Verdelho, Tinta Negra, Terrantez, Bual, Malmsey. Our w**e was certainly on the drier side. We decided for Verdelho, but it was a commercial Sercial made for export, sweeter than the usual. We got the points for country and region.
This was the call that wrecked the poor Japanese team which was leading the score before this w**e, they called it a Bual while the French team got the Sercial and won the competition. At least we didn’t suffer as much.
And that’s it! 96 points total. A solid score considering the challenges but not enough to improve our result compared to last year.
But we shared our Maltese w**es during the events with sommeliers and experts all over the world, we made new friends and especially we put Malta on the map as a country of passionate w**e enthusiasts and a destination for w**e lovers.
We want to thank our sponsors who supported us during the year with w**es for our training sessions: Farsonsdirect The Master Cellar Divino W**es & Spirits Dical House M&Z plc, our honorary captain Aaron Rizzo and the Malta Tourism Authority
We’ll compete again next year in Bandol! Championnat du monde de dégustation La RVF
