Mamertino – the tasting notes

Deep ruby with orange tinges. Seems still quite youthful for its age. Brooding and a little sweet on the nose. Spicy and savoury with hint of prune. Generous and succulent on the attack and with pretty firm tannins. Genuine, and ends perhaps a little too dry. Not very long on the fruit. (WS)

100% Nero d’Avola. Mid to deep ruby. Brooding and a little peppery and dusty. Almost a little nutty, more savoury than fruity on the nose. Elegant, and has nothing of the extracted rich Nero d’Avolas that are currently on the market. Supple and nothing over the top. Ends completely dry, but not hard. (WS)

Inzolia and Grillo fermented in stainless steel. Brilliant straw yellow. Soft, sweet nose with hints of lemon peel and green fruits. A little honeyed too. Fairly subdued and not very outspoken. Seems very young. Concentration will probably increase with the progressing age of the wine. Sweet fruit finish with just the right amount of acidity. Pleasant. (WS)

70% Nero d’Avola, 30% Nocera. Fermented in stainless steel and aged for 12 months in tonneaux and large 25-hl oak casks. The oak was new because it was the estate’s first vintage. Selected yeast were used, but in the future they will be indigenous.
Beautiful concentrated ruby with the beginning of orange on the rim. Just a little soapy (could it be the glass?). Very perfumed, almost a little sickly and not very typical for the grape varieties, and lots of new oak. Fresh dark fruit palate with quite drying oak tannins. Competently made, but misses real excitement, at least for now. Good length for such young vines. (WS)

100% Nocera, and a ‘prototype’ Mamertino. Healthy, brilliant deep ruby. Balsamic nose with hints of camphor and grandmother’s cupboard. Needs lots of air. Dry oak notes on the nose. Bright red fruit on the palate with attractive grainy tannins. Has real crunch and bite. Could perhaps be a little longer. (WS)

60% Catarratto, 20% Grillo, 20% Inzolia. Deep straw yellow. Appealing sweet lemon peel with a hint of apple. Catarratto’s typical viscous mouthfeel. Sweet citrus fruit with lemony acidity. Perhaps a little alcoholic. Pink grape fruit finish. (WS)

Aged in large oak cask for two years. Deep straw yellow. Low key on the nose with hints of beeswax. Viscous palate cut through by high acidity. The fruit is still quite subdued, but very much alive. A little phenolic on the finish, and with zippy acidity. Modest alcohol level for Sicily’s standards. (WS)

Dark maturing ruby. Dark smoky fruit nose with a hint of black olives. Intense concentration on the attack matched by a good dose of acidity and stalky tannin. Dark fruit finish with a pleasant bitter note. A little unpolished but original. (WS)

90% Nero d’Avola, 10% Nocera. Just mid ruby with a broad, watery orange rim. Initially not much concentration on the nose. Hay and herbs and a little dilute. Undergrowth. Sweet-sour fruit palate with firm tannins. Quite rustic. Ends quite dry. (WS)

Impenetrable purplish ruby. Soft, sweet raspberry and cherry nose with a herbal, leafy streak. Sweet concentrated blackberry fruit with bitter sweet, rustic tannins. Seems to be the most modern of the range. Drink while fresh and young. (WS)

The wine has been aged for two years in large oak cask. Deep ruby beginning to mature. Pretty nose with lift and dark fruit. A little tarry with a hint of tomato leaf. Ripe, dark fruit on the palate with good acidic bite and bittersweet tannins. Ends quite dry, but with real length. (WS)

Dark ruby beginning to mature. The same developed tobacco nose as with the 2007 (both hot vintages?) but with a sweet layer of fruit underneath. Hint of tar. Seems more fruit driven than the 2007 and with nice acidity. Good raw material and the Nero d’Avola (dark fruit and hint of tomato leaf) comes through. Compared to the 2007 version this seems to confirm that the wine benefits from an earlier release. Lots of ripe tannins on the finish. (WS)

90% Nero d’Avola, 10% Nocera. Will be released June 2013 after more than six years of ageing! Dark ruby with orange rim. Evolved tobacco nose and a little tarry, and leafy. Clearly aged. On the palate, sweet fruit with hints of tobacco leaf. A little old-fashioned, with quite firm, drying tannins but good acidity, which keeps it focused. Mid palate weight. Needs decanting. Perhaps a little weedy? (WS)