Winemaker Notes
Saia is opaque deep violet in color with aromas of dark and bitter red cherry, spearmint, spice and oak nuances. These lead into a velvety palate of lush, exotically concentrated fruit balanced by a fine acidic underpinning and ripe, sweet tannins. The long, penetrating finish ends on notes of wood, spice and pepper.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Incense, licorice and a host of other dark aromas and flavors emerge as the 2008 Saia (Nero d'Avola) opens up in the glass. The 2008 is more complex and nuanced than the 2009, but also firmer in style. Mint, tobacco and anise are some of the notes that develop over time. This striking, beautifully delineated red should continue to provide compelling drinking for a number of years. It is yet another example of a great Italian wine that over delivers for the money.
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Wine Spectator
A spicy red, featuring crushed black cherry, blackberry and plum notes that carry hints of melted licorice, vanilla bean, incense and earth through to the slightly grippy finish. Drink now through 2014.
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.
A large, geographically and climatically diverse island, just off the toe of Italy, Sicily has long been recognized for its fortified Marsala wines. But it is also a wonderful source of diverse, high quality red and white wines. Steadily increasing in popularity over the past few decades, Italy’s fourth largest wine-producing region is finally receiving the accolades it deserves and shining in today's global market.
Though most think of the climate here as simply hot and dry, variations on this sun-drenched island range from cool Mediterranean along the coastlines to more extreme in its inland zones. Of particular note are the various microclimates of Europe's largest volcano, Mount Etna, where vineyards grow on drastically steep hillsides and varying aspects to the Ionian Sea. The more noteworthy red and white Sicilian wines that come from the volcanic soils of Mount Etna include Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio (reds) and Carricante (whites). All share a racy streak of minerality and, at their best, bear resemblance to their respective red and white Burgundies.
Nero d’Avola is the most widely planted red variety, and is great either as single varietal bottling or in blends with other indigenous varieties or even with international ones. For example, Nero d'Avola is blended with the lighter and floral, Frappato grape, to create the elegant, Cerasuolo di Vittoria, one of the more traditional and respected Sicilian wines of the island.
Grillo and Inzolia, the grapes of Marsala, are also used to produce aromatic, crisp dry Sicilian white. Pantelleria, a subtropical island belonging to the province of Sicily, specializes in Moscato di Pantelleria, made from the variety locally known as Zibibbo.