If you’ve been reading my reviews for a while, you may have noticed my propensity to skip wines that carry lots of charred oak character – it’s a personal sensitivity that I’ve had for as long as I can remember, and it is the rare wine that manages to hit my balance point for that aspect in its expression. This wine nails it in the way that a fine peated Scotch whisky does – by adding depth and dimension without completely wiping out the other characteristics. Deep black fruit soaks the oak char up nicely, and the tannic structure keeps the fruit pushing through the long finish. Decant this for at least few hours before serving in the near term, or age up to twenty years. A Sicilian gem!
94 Rich Cook
Duca Di Salaparuta, Sicilia DOC (Sicily, Italy) Nero d’Avola “Duca Enrico, 200 Anni” 2020 ($75)
By Rich Cook
