Winemaker Notes
Sweet oriental spices and a faint memory of toasted cocoa accompany the wine in all its tasting phases, opening with distinct and sunny black fruit, then more wintery notes of leather and hummus. A captivating hint recalling the consistency of velvet with a finish of mint and black pepper.
Vegan-friendly
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is rich, mellow and nicely filled with fruit, offering dark cherries, plums, mild spices and hints of cedar and nutmeg on the nose. Medium- to full-bodied with velvety, rather supple tannins and impressive volume and length. A smooth and fruity aftertaste. Drink now or hold.
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Wine Spectator
There's a broad-shouldered feel to this integrated red, with sculpted tannins enmeshed with flavors of creamed black cherry, tarry smoke, dried mint, dill and vanilla. Opens nicely on the creamy palate before expanding through the spice- and graphite-laced finish. Drink now through 2035.
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Vinous
Darkly floral, the 2020 Maroccoli, 100% Syrah, lifts from the glass with a smoky blend of grilled herbs, dried violets and crushed blackberries. This is wonderfully fresh and lifted in style, with bright wild berry fruits and juicy acidity that maintains fantastic energy. It finishes with a pleasantly bitter sensation, tapering off with medium length and a spicy tinge.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
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.