WTN: Wow - an unspoofulated Nero d'Avola!

Dinner at friends' house - they made a very nice pizza; I was going to bring a Chianti but opted for this instead when I saw it at the shop:

• Feudo di Santa Tresa Cerasuolo di Vittoria 2004 - Italy, Sicily, Cerasuolo di Vittoria (10/27/2008)
  12,59€; plastic "cork"; 13% abv; Nero d'Avola & Frappato. Despite the plastic closure, this is very vibrant. It started out with some rather wild, funky and volatile aromas coupled with a beautiful red berry scent that was both bright, refreshing and ripe. Sadly the funky scents blew away, but gladly the beautiful red berry scents remained and it gained some plummy character: it morphed from a Musar-lookalike into something much more mainstream but still very interesting. No oak that I can sense. More medium- than full-bodied for a Southern wine, ripe but not overdone in any way, refreshingly tannic, quite lively acidity. If this is how lovely Nero d'Avola based wines can be when they aren't whacked with oak, why are so many made in such a massively oaky style?

Posted from CellarTracker

I suspect the Frappato in the blend (between 30% and 50%, per the DOCG regulations) is what made this so agreeable to you, Otto. Red berry fruit and bright acidity are pretty much the grape's hallmarks, I believe.

I suspect the Frappato in the blend (between 30% and 50%, per the DOCG regulations) is what made this so agreeable to you, Otto. Red berry fruit and bright acidity are pretty much the grape's hallmarks, I believe.

Good to know, thanks Clinton. Must seek out more Frappatoed wines. I'm also sure that lack of Barrique aging facilitated my enjoyment, too. A shame it is so hard to get unspoofulated Sicilians here.

-O

Must seek out more Frappatoed wines.
-O

Might be a bit of a tricky task, Otto. I'm not sure Frappato is grown much else than near the town of Vittoria, so you'll have to search for other Cerasuoli di vittoria, I think. The one by Planeta was available here in Sweden, but is unfortunately almost sold out.
On the interesting side, Cerasuolo is also the name for rosé in Abruzzo, made from the Montepulciano grape, as well as the name of an olive variety grown in Sicily (or in fact cerasuola, but it is just the feminine form of the same adjective which simply means cherry coloured). So much for cerasuolo trivia.
Good luck!
/Anders

Otto,

I thought I was a wine and words guy until now. I had to hunt down unspoofulated at snobsite to have the foggiest idea of what you meant. I love it and I bow before you.

It is unfortunate to see many wines from Italy, while under the guise of trying to embrace more advanced wine production, to go and almost ruin what potentially and very delicious variety. Sicily, while a long time producer of wine in general, is now coming of age. Nero d'Avola is definately starting to shine through. I personally have found an extreme value in Dievole's "Pinocchio".

Otto,
I had to hunt down unspoofulated at snobsite to have the foggiest idea of what you meant.

And I thought Otto invented that word!
Anders