A two week trip to Sicily was an opportunity not to be wasted on the vinous front, despite the other interested party being more interested in traditional attractions such as nature reserve beaches, fabulous pasticcerias and gelaterias and beautiful baroque towns (all of which I loved, of course). In the end, what we found is that wine tourism in Sicily is perhaps not as easy as we had thought it might be, with many producers not doing tastings for couples, or simply not taking in visitors. Good wine shops abound though, and we did come across some small vineyards really making an effort to get people in and sell direct (such as Feudo Ramaddini in Marzamemi).
After some time in Palermo and Scopello in the North, we headed down south to the Agrigento region, staying for a couple of nights at Francesco Cucurullo's Masseria Del Feudo as well as a lovely agriturismo called Baglio San Nicola. I'd reccomend stopping by Masseria Del Feudo if you're driving inland to try their Chardonnay, which I reviewed here a few months ago. It's quite a young vineyard with big ambitions - I also liked their melony, spicy Inzolia/Grillo blend. Francesco told me that he's going to be cutting down on barrel usage in the future for his top red, the Rosso Delle Rose, which seems like a smart move as Nero D'Avola from this region is not the big, structured wine it can be from the far South East.
We finished off our trip near the home of Nero D'Avola, in the beautiful countryside near Noto and the lovely Vendicari Nature Reserve (below)
Planeta have a fascinating winery near Noto, where they produce their flagship Santa Cecilia red. We went through a few wines from all over the island:
La Segreta Bianco 2011 Grecanino/Chardonnay blend. I always really like this wine, with its spicy melon and grape, dried apricot, and meadow flowers. Balanced weight on the palate.
Cometa 2011 Cometa was the first Sicilian Fiano. It has a very distinctive style, rich with skin contact and extraction. The dried mango, spice, unrefined sugar and vanilla flavours, together with the pithy extraction on the palate, present quite an idiosyncratic style. It does have some freshness and balance, but it's a bit OTT for me.
Cerasuolo di Vittoria 2010 40%Frappato and 60% Nero D'Avola. I love this style, with its fresh strawberry, red cherry and rhubarb, lip-smacking acidity and sappy elegance. Excellent.
Santa Cecilia 2008 Showing some lovely evolution of tobacco and pine alongside the bramble and prune fruit, with dried cherry and gentle savoury tobacco on the palate. This was less in-your-face than I remember this wine, with its elegant tannins and refined fruit. Worth seeking out.
I sensed a grudging respect for Planeta in Sicily - they're big, they're slick, and their wines are consistently good. In a country where modern wine tourism is just waking up, Planeta are ahead of the game.
A last mention must go to a wine I picked up in a little enoteca in the attractive town of Modica. Probably my favourite bottle from the trip. An interesting blend.
Vivera Terra dei Sogni 2009 Nerello Cappucio from Etna, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah from Corleone. Charcoal-tinged raspberry fruit on the nose, gently accompanied by red rose and cherries. The ripe red cherry fruit is supremely elegant on the palate, which has a a real mineral restraint and a rich seam of edgy acidity. Totally delicious.
As a postscript, I must say that we ate fantastically well on this trip. The following list represents all the components of one meal at the Agriturismo Baglio San Nicola:
Caponata, Arancinetti, Courgette salad, olive crostini, tomato crostini, local cheese, grilled marinated aubergine, couscous, frittata, potato bread, anchovy panino, 1L local Nero D'Avola, courgette and pancetta risotto, fennel and salsiccio pasta, chicken stuffed with couscous, local fruit. All, it must be said, top notch.
