Wine52 Case Review: The Italian South

This month’s Wine52 case covers the Italian South, from Puglia to Sicily and more. The wines here are characterised by a warm climate and signature native grapes that give the wines a unique point of difference compared to the rest of Italy. This is the land of Primitivo, Sangiovese, Negroamaro, Aglianico and more. A selection of bold red grape varieties that reflect the intense sunlight right back into the glass.

The rugged terrain of Sicily is even more dramatic, with plantings of local varieties such as the white Catarratto and the black Nero d’Avola dominating the wine scene. Mount Etna provides a striking tourist hotspot and also excellent vineyard territory. Whilst the region is also known for mass-production, Sicily has had a rising reputation for some time, for both local and international grapes that are well worth trying. Luckily, this is your chance!

The Wine Tasting

Carretu Grillo

Grillo is a crossing between Catarratto and Moscato, making full-bodied white wines with floral, citrus and tropical fruits. This is one of my favourite Sicilian grapes (not had a bad one yet at least!) and is a bit of a rising star.

The nose is full of stone fruit (peach, apricot), green apple and white flowers. This translates wonderfully onto the palate along with intense lemon zest and a zippy saline finish. It’s an absolutely brilliant summer wine.

Aramus Catarratto

Catarratto is honestly a little infamous among many wine drinkers. It’s easy to grow and high yielding which tends to mean the wines are on the cheaper side. That said, I could have also just described Pinot Grigio to you there and we all know how well loved that is.

The Aramus I think was a good, exciting example of what can be done. On the nose was orange blossom and orange zest giving it a very pleasant start. To taste, I actually started leaning towards a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, albeit a less intense tropical one with passionfruit and lychee coming out. Add to that ripe peach and a slick mineral finish and you’ve got a wine with great flavour!

Storia d’Amuri Nero D’Avola

Sicily’s most planted black grape variety and possibly its most famous, is well suited to the hot climate. This was one of the more hefty styles I’ve tried with some earthy notes on the palate. But, it was well-balanced by bright red cherry and plum fruits, racy acidity and a nice mellowing vanilla finish.

This combo enabled it to feel lighter than it was which is perfect for BBQ weather!

Ajata Shiraz

This was a fun extra to see what Sicily could do with Shiraz. This was probably the first time I’ve actually seen a Shiraz from here so hard to resist the explorative urge.

The nose held its own against any spicy Aussie version with black plums, cherry, charred wood and of course spice. The palate brought in some bright relief with lively red fruits, fine tannin (although there was plenty) and a subtle darker undertone that gave it some real backbone.

So, the Wine52 Southern Italy case ticked a number of boxes for me.

• Great exploration of native grape varieties with the option to add extras such as the Shiraz to make the experience even more interesting.
• Delicious Wines, of course
• Brilliant Glug magazine highlighting the stand out varieties and even some cheeses from the region