Two wines from Arianna Occhipinti: Sicilia Bianco 2009, Nero d’Avola e Frappato 2009
Posted By Joel on March 17, 2011
Two wines from Arianna Occhipinti: Sicilia Bianco 2009, Nero d’Avola e Frappato 2009
Sprezzatura, that Italian word which refers to the art of doing something difficult with nonchalant ease, echoes its meaning in Arianna Occhipinti’s SP68 Bianco Sicilia and her SP68 Nero d’Avola / Frappato.
In true sprezzatura fashion, I found both wines to be effortlessly fresh, focused, natural in style and attitude, approachable yet serious, flirtatious and fun.
The SP68 adorning the bottle label, I’ve read, gives a nod to a road used often for vineyard travel which passes nearby Vittoria in Sicily, the hometown of Occhipinti whose passion for wine was inspired in part by uncle Giusto Occhipinti, a partner of the well regarded Sicilian winery COS.
Arianna practices biodynamic methods, eschewing chemical interventions, to produce her wines from indigenous grapes with approximately 5 hectares under vine.
Occhipinti Sicilia Bianco 2009
Occhipinti’s SP68 Bianco Sicilia 2009 is made from Albanello and Moscato di Alessandria (regionally known as Zibibbo) grapes grown at 280m altitude in medium sand soil with a limestone component. Maceration on skins is carried out over 15 days. The wine spends six months in steel tanks and one month in bottle and is bottled unfilitered.
Tasting Notes / Impressions:
I felt as though I had stepped through some thin atmospheric membrane into Sicilian air scented with lemons and exotic cardamom. Citrus, honey, pistachio and herb on a deliciously dry, almost tannic palate that keeps magnificent balance. A beguilingly good wine.
We enjoyed this Sicilia Bianco with farro pasta tossed with eggplant, pistaschio, shrimp and tomato. Broccoli rapini with garlic olive and salt. Sheep’s cheese with rosemary rind.
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Occhipinti SP68 Nero d’Avola
Occhipinti’s SP68 Nero d’Avola / Frappato 2009 is made from vineyard and soil conditions similar to those noted above for SP68 Bianco, with winemaking following a like course, however, maceration in this case extends to 30 days.
Tasting Notes / Impressions:
As elegant and classy as anything I’ve tasted from Burgundy, this wine stirs the emotions with fantastically fresh raspberry, cherry, pomegranate, cinnamon and herb underlined by delicious minerality. Simply precious.
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