Winemaker Notes
A pretty, unoaked red. Dried cherries, sweet herbs and dried flowers emerge from this delicate, fleeting red best suited to near-term enjoyment.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Crunchy cranberries, violets, allspice, and a hint of nutmeg undertones. Light- to medium-bodied with juicy and silky tannins supported by a bright backbone of acidity. Balanced finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
A savory, mineral nose offers rocks, pencil eraser, mixed citrus, quince and apples and a little Parmesan rind. Nuts and spices on the palate bring out the Parmesanquality even as the apple flavors deepen and extend.
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Wine Spectator
A fresh, finely detailed red, this feels like raw silk on the palate, with taut tannins well-knit to flavors of crushed black raspberry and black cherry fruit. Delivers an underpinning of minerally smoke and stone, plus fragrant accents of star anise, fresh marjoram and sandalwood. Drink now through 2031. 3,300 cases made, 1,100 cases imported.
Extending across the variable volcanic soils of the slopes of Mt. Etna at some of the highest vineyard altitudes in all of Europe—up to 3,300 feet—Nerello Mascalese is one of Sicily’s most noble red varieties. It makes a beautifully aromatic, firm, cellar-worthy but pale-hued red often comparable to a fine Burgundy or Barbaresco. Somm Secret—Nerello Mascalese takes its name from the black color of its grapes, nerello, and the Mascali plain between Mt. Etna and the coast where it is believed to have originated.
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.