Italiano
Shall we drink a Nero d’Avola?
Nero d'Avola is one of the Italians' most beloved grape varieties, although in recent years its exploits have diminished. It can also be drunk in summer, just be careful to serve it almost cold, around 14-16°C.
Nero d'Avola, also known as Calabrese, is the most famous red grape of Sicily and also the most widespread. It is usually grown as a sapling or espalier, and gives a grape with a high sugar content that allows it to easily reach over 15° alcohol. The wine made from it has intense and distinctive flavors and aromas but is lacking in acidity. But beware: breeding it with special criteria has succeeded in lowering its sugar content and increasing its acidity.
Vinified thus in purity, with modern technologies, it has revealed itself as one of the great Italian structured reds, intense and harmonious, suitable, in its best expressions, for good aging. It is possible to make a more agile red from it, also suitable for less demanding consumption.
We present three that are affordably priced and of excellent quality, as is in the spirit of this column.
The first one is Mandrarossa's Cartagho from Cantine Settesoli, one of the most important cooperative wineries in southern Italy. Mandrarossa is its prestige brand, one million bottles out of twenty million produced in total: the emblem of a possible relationship between large numbers and quality, connection with the territory and affordable prices for consumers. It is produced in the Menfi area, in the province of Agrigento, in western Sicily.
The second is from brothers Cusumano. In 2001, Alberto and Diego Cusumano were taking their first steps into the world of Sicilian vitienology. Today Cusumano means wines of extraordinary quality halfway around the world, and that come from different parts of Sicily and not only from the Partinico area, between Palermo and Alcamo, which is home to the parent winery. They produce more than one Nero d'Avola, such as Sàgana, of the highest level, but we chose Disueri because of its particularly favorable quality/price ratio. The grapes come from Tenuta San Giacomo in Butera, in the province of Caltanissetta, in south-central Sicily.
Let's finish with Nero d'Avola from Cantine Colosi, Managed by Piero Colosi, an exponent of the fourth generation, with the collaboration of his father Pietro, Cantine Colosi is located in Giammoro, in the province of Messina, where all processing takes place. The vineyards, mostly Malvasia delle Lipari, are instead developed on the small Aeolian island of Salina, in the Gramignazzi locality, and for the past few years a few hectares of vineyards have been leased in central Sicily, in Riesi (CL), and also in Mazara (TP), from which Nero d'Avola is derived.
Mandrarossa
Sicilia Nero d’Avola Cartagho 2018
93/100 - € 15,00
100% Nero d’Avola grapes. Aged in barrique for 12 months. Intense ruby red colour. Elegant nose of red fruits, leather, and citrus then notes of liquorice and humus. Full-bodied, sunny, well-balanced, fresh, and fruity; pleasant finish.
Cusumano
Sicilia Nero d’Avola Disueri 2020
91/100 - € 10
100% Nero d’Avola. At least 5 months in stainless steel on the lees. Purple ruby red colo with violet hues. Aromas of wildberries, cherries and aromatic herbs. Fresh and dynamic sip, good structure, juicy and fruity finish.
Cantine Colosi
Sicilia Nero d’Avola 2020
90/100 - € 9,00
100% Nero d’Avola grapes. Stainless steel only. Deep purple red colour. Clean, intense, and multi-layered nose of ripe cherry, fresh plum, caper, and iodine note. Very fresh palate showing good structure, delicate tannins, and a long and fruity finish. Typical and pleasant.
