This wine from, Mandrarossa, the upscale label of an excellent Sicilian cooperative, Settesoli, could qualify for the best white wine value of the year. Wine co-ops get little respect, which is a shame. The outdated vision of a co-op is that all the grapes go into one pot and out comes one innocuous wine. Nothing could be further from the truth with Settesoli, which has identified especially good sites for wines for the Mandrarossa label. This Grillo, an indigenous Sicilian grape which is also the Italian word for cricket, has crispness, depth and minerality. It has amazing complexity and length for the price. Try it with hearty seafood or linguine with a clam sauce.
Mandrarossa, Sicilia DOC (Sicily, Italy) Grillo 2018
By Michael Apstein