Unico Zelo The River Nero D'Avola 2017 Front Bottle Shot
Unico Zelo The River Nero D'Avola 2017 Front Bottle Shot Unico Zelo The River Nero D'Avola 2017 Front Label

Winemaker Notes

Super-juice mouth-feel and texture that picks up on the most confected of characters without a heady aroma or heavy weight holding it down. A more zippy expression of the grape variety - no doubt from the meter’s worth of iron-rich sand on limestone that emphasize these more fragrant and fleeting characters.

Professional Ratings

  • 92
    Nero d'Avola hails from hot, arid Sicily, and finds the same climes in South Australia's Riverland - not usually championed as a region for high-quality wines. But this is a cracker, with very approachable, sappy fruit, seeing five days on its skins and no oak to maximise its savoury berry vibrancy. Succulent, lifted and with fresh acidity, this is a real quaffer. Nice packaging too.
  • 92
    This natural-leaning producer delivers once again, this time with a Sicilian variety from the up-and-coming Riverland region. This wine offers cran-raspberry fruit, drying leaves, earth, meat and drying herbs on the nose. The light- to medium-bodied palate brings more cranberry tang, with savory, sinewy tannins and an earthy core. This is a textural wine perfect for charcuterie or roast meats.
    Editors' Choice
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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.

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A large, climatically diverse country with incredibly diverse terrain, producing just about every wine style imaginable, Australia has a grand winemaking history and some of the oldest vines on the planet. Both red wine and white wine from Australian are wildly popular and beloved. Most of Australia's wine regions are concentrated in the south of the country with those inland experiencing warm, dry conditions and those in coastal areas receiving tropical, maritime or Mediterranean weather patterns. Australia has for several decades been at the forefront of winemaking technology and has widely adopted the use of screwcaps, even for some premium and ultra-premium bottles. Thanks to the country’s relatively agreeable climate throughout and the openness of its people, experimentation is common and ongoing.

Shiraz is indeed Australia’s most celebrated and widely planted variety; Barossa Valley leads the way, producing exceptionally bold and supple versions. Cabernet Sauvignon, Australia's second most planted variety, can be blended with Shiraz but also shines on its own particularly in Coonawarra and Margaret River. Grenache and Mourvèdre are also popular, both on their own and alongside Shiraz in Rhône Blends. Chardonnay is common throughout the country and made in a wide range of styles. Sauvignon Blanc has recently surged in popularity to compete with New Zealand’s distinctive version and Semillon is often blended in Margaret River or shines on its own in the Hunter Valley. Riesling thrives in the cool-climate Clare and Eden Valleys. Sticky-sweet fortified wine Rutherglen is a beloved regional specialty of Victoria.

GEC820315_2017 Item# 511226