Cusumano nero d’avola 2004 from Italy

This is a wine from a grape variety that’s becoming more popular every year. It has a lovely ruby red colour with a pronounced bouquet of morello cherries, blackberry jam and juniper berries.

This follows through to the taste, which is a little spicy but it’s soft, full-bodied and with plenty of acid and tannin. It’s 13½% alcohol and has a bitter cherry finish, which lingers. I drank it with some roast pork, which was fine but I think beef would suit it better.

The grapes were sourced from vineyards in the central eastern area of Sicily. This area of Italy has always produced the most wine, averaging over 10 million hectolitres per year but now the quality is improving as well. After crushing, the grapes were held in tank for two days at 5ºC to macerate. Also during fermentation regular pumping over took place so there’s plenty of extract here. Interestingly the wine was held in the stainless steel fermentation tank for five months on the lees, which adds to the body and complexity of the wine.

The Nero D’avola grape or Calabrese as it’s called in Sicily hardly gets a mention in Jancis Robinson’s famous book on grapes written in 1986. However, today it commands more attention with the vines now covering more than 15,000 hectares of the island. It’s thought to be a grape of high potential producing wines that age well.

The Cusumano brothers have a modern business here and on the strength of this wine I shall be looking for more of their products. This bottle was £5.99 at Oddbins or 2 for £10 until April 23. This is part of the Mediterranean promotion with 15% off and lots of 2 for £10 bargains.

11/04/06