WTN: Montalto Nero D'Avola-Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Barone Montalto
Sicilia

Cherry red in the glass.

Chocolate, floral, earthy on the nose.

Tangy, earthy, cherry fruit, red licorice, spicy, a bitter bite, good acidity.

Drying on the finish.

Quite simple, but enjoyable.

Purchased at $9.95 (Canadian).

Screwcap closure.

I'll take this opportunity to make a statement---not a rant, just a personal observation.

Nero d'Avola was one of those varieties that had a surprisingly short arc of existence for me. When it first started to gain some prominence, I was interested. Always like it when a new variety/style manages to establish itself, and everyone around here probably knows I love the whole wide, wide world of wine concept and letting a thousand thousand wine flowers bloom, etc.

So I was up for Nero d'Avola.

Sadly, though, since NdA was in Sicily, an exceedingly torrid and dry place that is capable of producing a great amount of fairly insipid wine, and since NdA got the attention of those who saw huge volume/profit potential on the world scene, we got a strange and curious mixture of wines exploding on the scene.

Some were, quite frankly, featureless blobs of indiscriminate juice that could just as easily have been labeled with any number of names, since the wine inside had little to no identity, and certainly no such thing as "terroir" or tipicity.

Some were so horribly, horribly manipulated and tricked up and heavily oaked and acidified (while still being essentially boneless and flaccid underneath) as to gain attention but still leave the sense of a clothesless emperor behind. These wines were little monsters of the "world style"---that is, no style at all, just frippery and glitter to distract and deceive.

Some were just out and out Sicilian whores rouged up with colorful lipstick and sounding of vaguely tarty Australian accents.

And some were quite interesting, balanced, satisfying, pleasant and made with attention and care.

Thing is, even the better ones just weren't all that interesting to me. There was little, even in the best, to be truly compelling or commanding. Frankly, NdA usually had little to recommend itself and didn't stand out of a crowded crowd very well. Countless other wines could satisfy the same itch, and there was little distinction in the scratch of the NdA.

So I lost interest. Don't seek them out anymore. Usually don't opt for them when they are available, if there are other choices. And there are few I'd even give a second glance at.

Shame, really. I think NdA is a perfectly good wine, and should I be in Sicily I would certainly drink it, because it is widely available there. And I'm also sure it would be passable and satisfying. But when I'm out buying wine, and looking for wine, I'm not buying or looking for NdA. It's just not that interesting.

Interesting, Hoke, in essence I think you're saying that a hot and dry climate tempts a greater than average number of winemakers to adopt profit-driven practices, and that this particular varietal is not interesting enough, intrinsically, to survive abuse. That made me think of the temptations faced by Andean winemakers, with nearly risk-free irrigated desert climates. Also makes me wonder if the greater difficulties of northern climates help keep winemakers more honest, other things equal, by making abundance not an option.