Palermo to Puglia: Sicily and the Italian South

Theatre of Wine
18 October 2012


1. Di Majo Norante Rami Falanghina 2011, Molise
90% Falanghina, 10% Fiano
Some floral notes and mineral aromas (slate?). High, crisp acidity. Mineralic nature continues on the palate. This has had some skin maceration - gives it quite a lot of intense flavour. This is well balanced. Very good. £11.30


2. Gioia Al Negro Ombrosa Romantica Fiano 2010, Basilicata
Medium-intensity floral and melon nose. Really good - but a little hard to describe the flavour. Less acidic, this has a more waxy mouthfeel. The fruit is more cooked in character and there is a strongly herbal nature to the wine. I liked this - it was very interesting. £9.40


3. Occhipinti SP68 Bianco 2011, Sicilia
(Named after the road which goes past the vineyard)
This wine was made by crazy biodynamic hippies so very little intervention by the winemaker/growers and absolutely no sulphur. Even more bizarrely - they don't use temperature control during fermentation - for a white wine from Sicily. They obviously like to live dangerously!
Smells like a muscat (turns out to by zibibbo, which is part of the muscat family). As a result, it initially smells as though it will be a sweet wine, but is actually bone dry. A weird oxidized note on the nose. Noticeably mineralic on the palate. This is definitely an interesting wine, but it's not a particularly enjoyable wine. It hits all the technical things you want in a wine - complexity, intensity etc - but something about the whole just doesn't work for me. Fine for a tasting sample, but you'd probably not want to crack open a bottle and drink lots of it. £16.40


4. Guccione Gibril Nerello Mascalese 2009, Sicilia
An extremely pale colour for a red wine - think Pinot Noir or Nebbiolo. Medium-intensity red fruit. Slight deliberate oxidation? Tasted very good, but fades a little quickly. Very interesting - tannins are more towards the PN than the Nebbiolo end of the spectrum. However, it definitely had the stuffing to stand up to the (amazing) salami. The herbal flavour of the salami was totally brought to life by the combination with the wine. One of those beautiful occasions where the combination is better than the sum of the parts! £23.90


5. Occhipinti Il Frappato 2010, Sicilia
The aroma profile here is strongly towards the red fruit end of the spectrum and this is still quite primary in nature. Light, delicate aromas. Nice, but not worth £25. Very quaffable and enjoyable. I prefer the previous wine though. This has a soft mouthfeel, but is actually quite tannic. £24.80


6. Gioia Al Negro Nerulum Rosso 2007, Basilicata
This was the best of the reds - apart from the Taurasi (at 4 times the price). It was the first of the reds which was dark and opaque. Darker nose: complex, sweet, ripe dark fruit. Also, wood, liquorice and herbs. Palate is much lighter and more refreshing. Almost juicy fruit. Very elegant. Lots of complex flavours on the palate too though - more like leather. An interesting contrast between the expectations from the nose, and the showing on the palate. And a total bargain at £11.50.


7. Mocavero Rosso 2009, Salice Salentino (Puglia)
(Salice Salentino... Salice means "willow". Like Salicylic Acid)
Intense flavour. Almost coffee-like bite, but with a smooth mouthfeel (tannins there nonetheless). Spice aftertaste. Nice, but not as good as previous wine. £10.20


8. Fatalone Primitivo 2008, Gioia del Golle
Very good. I must be a little drunk by now as I'm struggling to accurately describe the taste of this wine. A lifted, herbal aroma. Velvety mouthfeel. Intense dark flavours. Relatively low acid. This would be great with a steak! £12.70


9. Pietracupa Taurasi 2006, Campania
Deep, dark colour. Dark fruit, spice, leather and balsamic notes(! but in a good way) on the nose. Noticeable minerality on the palate. This is acidic and refreshing, but powerful too. Tastes very young despite being 6 years old - would be great with beef. Soft and dusty tannin. This is excellent - a classy wine. Beautiful finish too. Shame it's £41.60


10. Ceratti Greco di Bianco 2006, Calabria
This smells like a Beaumes de Venise. This weird grape must also be part of the Muscat family. I'm not a huge muscat fan, but this is not bad. Very sweet but good acidity. Same colour as honey, which probably accounts for all the arguments people were having about whether it tasted like honey or not (not honey, more dried apricot and green grapes). A nice sweet wine, but nothing more. Would not pay £29.70 for it though.