WTN: Don Corleone made me do it
Posted: Sun Apr 21, 2013 6:29 pm
Bought ten Sicilian wines last week to feed the neighborhood:
At the self-pour table:
2010 Planeta La Segreta (75% Nero d'Avola, 10% Mer, 109% cab), $11Fresh and interesting. Juicy rasberry and strawberry fruit with clove and vanilla. Clearly the group's favorite on the self pour table.
2011 Purato (a 60/40 blend of cattaratto and pinot grigio), $11
Straw gold and odd. Struck me as a cross between some apple wines I've had with a little retsina thrown in--there was a distinct resiny undertone. (Note from two days later: I ended up with leftovers, and after two days I have to say the wine was better than I gave it credit for. The fruit was just hiding, I think, because tonight the resin was enveloped in richer fruit. Tasted like a warm climate, oaked Sauvignon Blanc.) But Friday night the group preferred:
2011 Regaleali Bianco (a white blend of I'm not sure what), $12
Pale wine with green apple and white melon. Very dilute and nondescript, but refreshing.
2010 Colosi Rosso Siscilia (100% nero d'avola), $10
Broad, rich and spicy. Better concentration and complexity than most cheap neros.
The sit-down wines:
First, a comparison of two premium whites:
2009 Feudo di Santa Tresa Rina Ianca (70% grillo, 30% viognier), $20
Deep yellow. Peaches, mango, pineapple, lemon, vanilla, cardamom, lavender, nutty and mildly oxidative. (Note from two days later: completely oxidized. Another wine that should not have been sold/recommended.)
2011 Occhipinti SP68 (Albanello and Muscat of Alexandria), $23
Fresher, focused, serious yet flirtatiously fun with flavors of lemon, citrus, honey, herb and nuts.
Then four reds:
2010 Tenuta della Terra Nere Etna Rosso (98% Nerello Mascalese, 2% Nerello Cappuccio), $14
Suckling gave this 93 pts, Galloni 92, and the reasons are instantly evident. What a gorgeous wine. Starts off with a nose unlike anything in recent memory: pretty, floral, jasminey and plummy--haunting. In the mouth, just as inviting with a silky blueberry and cranberry thing which don't make sense together but they were there, and I'm at a loss for words to accurately describe what else I remember about it. It defies all my usual references--need to buy and spend time with another bottle to get it right. Very pinot-ish in body and femininity, with a little earth. Outstanding value. p.s. I also bought for myself one of the single vineyard wines from this property (at three times the price)--I can barely imagine what I'm in for.
2009 Passopisciaro (100% Nerello Mascalese), $39
Impressive, elegant, harmonic. Sandalwood, red fruit, flowers, cigar leaf, earth, minerals and spices. Soft tannins make it accessible now but there's clearly enough structure and depth for more interesting things to happen in the bottle. Loved it, am so glad I anticipated I would and bought the last bottle at Esquin for my own cellar.
2009 Aziendo Agricola Cos Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico, $31
Mild barnyard on the nose along with red fruit, tea, mushrooms, leather, cedar, minerals and smoke. Earthiest of the three. When it came to picking my favorite at the end of the night, I had a hard time deciding which of these first three reds I liked best and in what order. This and the Passopisciaro had more layers, but they're also older and that goddess of a nose on the Terra Nere should not be underestimated. These were really terrific wines that surpassed any expectations set by the 2008 Occhipinti Il Frappato I opened two weeks ago.
2009 Maurigi Bacco Rossa (Nero d'Avola, syrah and cabernet) $14
Upon release this wine merited descriptors like strawberry, passion fruit, tea and some spice. What we had? Baked fruit on the nose, with a hollow mid-palate and non existent finish. Boring and clearly past it's prime; shouldn't even have been on the shelf let alone recommended to me.
At the self-pour table:
2010 Planeta La Segreta (75% Nero d'Avola, 10% Mer, 109% cab), $11Fresh and interesting. Juicy rasberry and strawberry fruit with clove and vanilla. Clearly the group's favorite on the self pour table.
2011 Purato (a 60/40 blend of cattaratto and pinot grigio), $11
Straw gold and odd. Struck me as a cross between some apple wines I've had with a little retsina thrown in--there was a distinct resiny undertone. (Note from two days later: I ended up with leftovers, and after two days I have to say the wine was better than I gave it credit for. The fruit was just hiding, I think, because tonight the resin was enveloped in richer fruit. Tasted like a warm climate, oaked Sauvignon Blanc.) But Friday night the group preferred:
2011 Regaleali Bianco (a white blend of I'm not sure what), $12
Pale wine with green apple and white melon. Very dilute and nondescript, but refreshing.
2010 Colosi Rosso Siscilia (100% nero d'avola), $10
Broad, rich and spicy. Better concentration and complexity than most cheap neros.
The sit-down wines:
First, a comparison of two premium whites:
2009 Feudo di Santa Tresa Rina Ianca (70% grillo, 30% viognier), $20
Deep yellow. Peaches, mango, pineapple, lemon, vanilla, cardamom, lavender, nutty and mildly oxidative. (Note from two days later: completely oxidized. Another wine that should not have been sold/recommended.)
2011 Occhipinti SP68 (Albanello and Muscat of Alexandria), $23
Fresher, focused, serious yet flirtatiously fun with flavors of lemon, citrus, honey, herb and nuts.
Then four reds:
2010 Tenuta della Terra Nere Etna Rosso (98% Nerello Mascalese, 2% Nerello Cappuccio), $14
Suckling gave this 93 pts, Galloni 92, and the reasons are instantly evident. What a gorgeous wine. Starts off with a nose unlike anything in recent memory: pretty, floral, jasminey and plummy--haunting. In the mouth, just as inviting with a silky blueberry and cranberry thing which don't make sense together but they were there, and I'm at a loss for words to accurately describe what else I remember about it. It defies all my usual references--need to buy and spend time with another bottle to get it right. Very pinot-ish in body and femininity, with a little earth. Outstanding value. p.s. I also bought for myself one of the single vineyard wines from this property (at three times the price)--I can barely imagine what I'm in for.
2009 Passopisciaro (100% Nerello Mascalese), $39
Impressive, elegant, harmonic. Sandalwood, red fruit, flowers, cigar leaf, earth, minerals and spices. Soft tannins make it accessible now but there's clearly enough structure and depth for more interesting things to happen in the bottle. Loved it, am so glad I anticipated I would and bought the last bottle at Esquin for my own cellar.
2009 Aziendo Agricola Cos Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico, $31
Mild barnyard on the nose along with red fruit, tea, mushrooms, leather, cedar, minerals and smoke. Earthiest of the three. When it came to picking my favorite at the end of the night, I had a hard time deciding which of these first three reds I liked best and in what order. This and the Passopisciaro had more layers, but they're also older and that goddess of a nose on the Terra Nere should not be underestimated. These were really terrific wines that surpassed any expectations set by the 2008 Occhipinti Il Frappato I opened two weeks ago.
2009 Maurigi Bacco Rossa (Nero d'Avola, syrah and cabernet) $14
Upon release this wine merited descriptors like strawberry, passion fruit, tea and some spice. What we had? Baked fruit on the nose, with a hollow mid-palate and non existent finish. Boring and clearly past it's prime; shouldn't even have been on the shelf let alone recommended to me.