Winemaker Notes
Vibrant and juicy, but with a pleasant reduction that adds sternness and complexity. Flavors of dusty raspberry, Davidson plum (a sour native plum), and graphite. Fine tannins and silky mouthfeel.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Grown on a combination of basalt, shale, sandstone, dolerite, quartz and limestone, this 2021 Nero d'Avola is every bit as inappropriately luminescent as I was hoping. “Inappropriate” because as adults we are trained to favor savoriness and complexity, and this is sweet, guilty and pure. It is so pretty and bright that it's almost not for adults. Full of wild summer raspberry, redskin lollies, pomegranate juice and black cherries, this is awesome. Nero does well in Australia, and we are seeing more and more of it. This is delicious, but it will not be for everyone, thanks to its luminous fruit.
Boldly opulent and robust, Nero d’Avola is Sicily’s most widely planted red grape. Nero d’Avola performs well both as a single varietal bottling and in blends. It loves hot, arid climates and Sicily's old vines are aptly head-trained close to the ground, making them resistant to strong winds. A few pioneering producers in California as well as Australia farm Nero d’Avola in the same way. Somm Secret—Nero d’Avola's other name, Calabrese, suggests origins from the mainland region of Calabria.
Historically some of Australia’s most lucrative gold country, today Heathcote maintains its esteemed reputation as a source of country’s best red wines. The rolling countryside of ancient reddish brown soils bordered by mountain ranges that funnel cool air into the region during the growing season create some of Australia’s most deeply-hued and impressively layered Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon wines.