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.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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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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