2014 SP68 Rosso, Arianna Occhipinti, Sicily, Italy
Critics reviews
Monica Larner - 29/01/2016
About this WINE
Arianna Occhipinti, Sicily
Located in Sicily ’s south-eastern Val di Noto province, the landscape of which is dominated by the red loam-over-white limestone soils and dry stone walls of the Iblei Mountain plateau, and by such beautiful towns such as Siracusa, Vittoria and Modica – this is a world away from Etna, which looms on the horizon.
The Occhipinti family is synonymous with the Frappato grape that underpins Siciliy’s only DOCG: Cerasuolo di Vittoria. Arianna kicked off in 2004, making wines in a family farmhouse, before transferring, in 2013, to a purpose-built winery, where her 22 hectares of Frappato and Nero d’Avola, along with one-and-a-half hectares of intense Albanello and Zibibbo white grapes, are vinified using cement and Stockinger barrels (Slavonian, German, Austrian oak).
Other Varieties
There are over 200 different grape varieties used in modern wine making (from a total of over 1000). Most lesser known blends and varieties are traditional to specific parts of the world.
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Description
A blend of 70 percent Frappato and 30 percent Nero d’Avola, this saucy number is made by the remarkable Arianna Occhipinti, one of the new generation rejuvenating Sicily’s wine scene. Organically grown and unfiltered, this is her entry-level red. The name is taken from a road, in Arianna’s words, “for a wine which is a journey”. Brooding dark fruit, muddled mulberries and cherries play on the nose.
A juicy acidity is balanced by savoury tannins that offer enough grip to handle something meaty. Easily quaffable alone, this long-lasting wine would also work well with lamb marinated in anchovy and garlic.
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