LeDomduVin: Azienda Agricola COS Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico DOCG 2017

COS Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico DOCG 2017

For the past 2 decades, this Sicilian gem has been on my list of favorite everyday wines. 

I discovered it in the mid-2000s while working as a wine consultant and buyer for one of New York's most prominent wine & spirits retailers. It was love at first taste. And I never ceased to go back to it ever since. 

Cerasuolo di Vittoria is currently the only DOCG in Sicily, and the wines are worth discovering. 

Azienda Agricola "COS" is an acronym for the 3 friends who founded the winery back in 1980: Giambattista Cilia, Giusto Occhipinti, and Cirino Strano. 

This is a red wine from the region of Vittoria, south-eastern Sicily. Made from a blend of 40% Frappato and 60% Nero D’Avola, from 25 years old vines, grown organically on sandy red soil of limestone-siliceous nature perched at an altitude of 230 meters above sea level. After fermentation on the skins with indigenous yeasts, the wine is aged in large Slavonian oak barrels and bottled in their distinctive squat bottle. (*)

The resulting wine is always delightful, fresh, and easy to drink, and this 2017 is no exception to the rule. Last tested a few months ago (but forgot to post it), it was smooth, silky, and fresh. 

Despite growing under the scorching sun of Sicily, this wine is surprisingly low in alcohol (13%) and light to medium-bodied, with Frapato delivering vibrant acidity, freshness, juiciness, and intense aromatics, while Nero d'Avola bringing color, texture, structure, and depth. 

Not the most complex wine, yet greatly satisfying, friendly, delicious with Mediterranean food, and even on its own. 

Served slightly chilled, it will be perfect for this summer to drink in good company on a terrace facing the sea. 

And at less than 25 Euros (220 HKD), this wine is a steal. 😉😁👍🍷

Cheers! Santé! 

Dom

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LeDomduVin: Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso 2020

Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso 

2020 Sicily, Italy

Enjoying a nice glass of red with Leonardo Degli'Innocenti, Operations Director at "Tuber" and "Cannubi" (*), while eating a delicious dish prepared by talented executive chef Keith Yam Ka-lok.

It was my first time at "Tuber". Very nice and cosy place, "Art Deco" style, comfortable and relaxed atmosphere, with a great wine list boasting a very interesting selection of Italian wines mingling with some from the rest of the world, at competitive prices.

I came that day to assist with the wine service for a private lunch. Once the lunch was over and the patrons were gone, pastry chef Tommaso Gaudino, Leonardo and myself sat down and enjoyed some pasta and wine (as we did not eat prior to the service). It was a brief, yet tasty, comforting and enjoyable experience.

Terre Nere Etna Rosso is one of my favourite red wines from Sicily. I used to buy and sell a lot of this wine during my New York years.

This Etna Rosso is a blend of 95% Nerello Mascalese, and 5% Nerello cappuccio, from 5 to 50-year-old vines, planted on volcanic soil, on the northern slope of Mount Etna, at an altitude between 600  and 900 meters. It is aged in large French oak barrels (10-30 hl) for 16 months, plus one month in steel tanks, then bottled unfiltered, with an average annual production of 11,000 cases.

Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso 2020 Sicily, Italy

This 2020 vintage visually presents an attractive clear, bright and youthful ruby colour. The nose is very incentive, boasting fresh aromas of red cherries and berries mingling with floral, earthy and mineral notes and smokey nuances. The palate is clean, precise and sharp, medium-bodied yet generously coating, offering plenty of subtle flavours, harmoniously balanced between the fruit, the zesty acidity and the present yet integrated tannins, providing this wine with great structure and texture, opulence and charm, with a good grip on the persistent finish. Love it.

Thank you for this enjoyable moment in your company Leonardo, it was really nice. Thanks to Chef Keith too.

Sante! Cheers! 

Dom

(*) Umberto Bombana new restaurants in K11 Musea, Hong Kong.

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Unless stated otherwise, all right reserved ©LeDomduVin 2022 on all the contents above including, but not limited to, photos, pictures, drawings, illustrations, visuals, maps, memes, posts, texts, writings, quotes, notes, tasting notes, descriptions, wine descriptions, definitions, recipes, graphs, tables, and even music and video (when and where applicable).