WBW: Sicilia Nero d'Avola 2003, Cusumano
Even if I'm swamped with things to do, I would not have missed this edition of Wine Blogging Wednesdays for anything. Ronald and Katia, this month's hosts, picked up a theme very close to my heart: Sicilian reds. Italy's South! Like a sip of home.
My original idea would have been to find something slightly more unusual than the popular Nero d'Avola wines that are becoming ubiquitous. A Cerasuolo di Vittoria, an Etna Rosso, or even better a rare quality Marsala Rubino would have made my day. Missing that I would have settled for one of the few wines that really moved me, Faro Palari (tasted on this blog some time ago. No chance. When I make these plans, I always tend to forget about the lack of well stocked wine shops around here. A casual visit to a local supermarket brought up a cheap Sicilian Nerello Mescalese wine, which disappointingly but probably not surprisingly (given the price) turned out to be fit for the sink. Therefore, it had to be Nero d'Avola.
I picked the entry level 2003 Nero d'Avola from Cusumano, a good wine, with a clear Mediterranean character and extremely drinkable (judging from the speed the bottle got emptied). Quoting from my notes, it has a pleasant bouquet of red fruit followed by spices and nuts, and just a hint of Mediterranean herbs; a full, and only slightly unbalanced (towards alcohol) taste with very smooth tannin; and a surprisingly long finish for a wine in this price class (9 €). Definitely worth the price.
The wine is very smooth to the palete with an incredable finish.
Posted by: Rich | April 24, 2005 at 02:22 AM