WTN: Tannat and Frappato

2006 Joseph Swan Tannat Mathew's Station (Russian River Valley, Sonoma, California, USA) cork, 13.5% - appears dark intense purple with brown edges, smell interesting savory flavors, some gingerbread, but really dark, taste thick, dark, brooding rather than refreshing, multiple tart rolling flavors, as it opens it moves toward tasting like a dry port or Douro, but without the dust, intense and delicious flavors within, but so flavorfully intense that small doses are the best approach

2008 Arianna Occhipinti Sicilia SP68 [Frappato] (Sicilia IGT, southern Italy) – beautiful flowery developing nose, absolutely beautiful, taste good flavorful entry but delicious food-friendly acidity defines this wine—it even pairs with caesar salad! as well as with more savory italian fare. Beautiful delicious wine for the table

2008 Arianna Occhipinti Sicilia SP68 [Frappato] (Sicilia IGT, southern Italy) – beautiful flowery developing nose, absolutely beautiful, taste good flavorful entry but delicious food-friendly acidity defines this wine—it even pairs with caesar salad! as well as with more savory italian fare. Beautiful delicious wine for the table

After really liking her straight Frapatto, we tried this a few months ago and weren't as impressed. I love food-friendly acidity, but here it seemed to dominate the fruit a bit too much, and the body was a bit too light to be fully satisfying. Glad your bottle showed better (as usual, we can never know if we tasted exactly the same liquid, not to mention different serving temperatures, glasses, etc.)

I don't think I've seen a Frappato since I picked up some bottles in Rome 9 years ago. Here is my TN from soon afterwards.

Il Frappato 1999 - IGT Sicilia - Cantina Valle dell' Acate.

C: Medium/deep
N: Bitter cherry with distinct iodine and crushed pip notes.
P: Cherry with a touch of orange encased in an agreeable non-aggressive quinine-like bitterness. Medium weight and good mouth-fill.

The description may not seem particularly alluring but I find this wine very attractive and refreshing. I first tried and liked it on a hot Roman evening with light cold food and it excelled. Tonight I drank it with a winter dish of French country sausages and beans ("haricots tarbais") and it went surprisingly well. Not a "grand vin" but an original concept for the simple fruity and refreshing wine. For me this is infinitely more interesting than another Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or Syrah. And good QPR too; EUR 7.

As you can see, I liked the wine and would like to find another; but it doesn't sound much like yours.

The Cali Tannat sounds good.

.

Tim, the Occhipinti made me look for another frapatto and I landed exactly on an Acate a few weeks ago.

2008 Valle dell'Acate Il Frappato Vittoria Frappato DOC Sicilia 13.0%
After enjoying two frappatos from Arianna Occhipinti in the last couple of months, I wanted to try somebody else's in order to better understand the "breed standard." This was a candidate for lightest color ever encountered in a red, a very pale strawberry. Suggesting order in the universe, aromas are strawberry, sour strawberry and candied strawberry. Sniffed blind, I would have guessed a mass produced beaujolais villages (I am seldom surprised at how wrong I can be). Mouthfeel is refreshigly acidic, with extremely light body. The candied strawberry wins the strawberry wars and finishes first. Hard to believe this is 13% alcohol, it's so light on its feet. It was a mistake to have it with taleggio, the pungency of the cheese overwhelming the wine's featherweight jabs. Bottom line: pleasant and refreshing, no doubt what I would want if I were surrounded by volcanoes.

Bottom line: pleasant and refreshing, no doubt what I would want if I were surrounded by volcanoes.

Oswaldo wins the "Tasing Note of the Week" award.

2006 Joseph Swan Tannat Mathew's Station (Russian River Valley, Sonoma, California, USA) cork, 13.5% - appears dark intense purple with brown edges, smell interesting savory flavors, some gingerbread, but really dark, taste thick, dark, brooding rather than refreshing, multiple tart rolling flavors, as it opens it moves toward tasting like a dry port or Douro, but without the dust, intense and delicious flavors within, but so flavorfully intense that small doses are the best approach

Cool, Keith! I didn't realize that Rod was making any Tannat. Was this a recent purchase? I was planning on visiting them in a few weeks when we're out there.

Mark Lipton

2006 Joseph Swan Tannat Mathew's Station

Cool, Keith! I didn't realize that Rod was making any Tannat. Was this a recent purchase? I was planning on visiting them in a few weeks when we're out there.

I bought it earlier this year on a visit.

2008 Arianna Occhipinti Sicilia SP68

After really liking her straight Frapatto, we tried this a few months ago and weren't as impressed.

Oswaldo, do you know if the SP68 has nero d'avola in addition to the frappato?

2006 Joseph Swan Tannat Mathew's Station (Russian River Valley, Sonoma, California, USA) cork, 13.5% - appears dark intense purple with brown edges, smell interesting savory flavors, some gingerbread, but really dark, taste thick, dark, brooding rather than refreshing, multiple tart rolling flavors, as it opens it moves toward tasting like a dry port or Douro, but without the dust, intense and delicious flavors within, but so flavorfully intense that small doses are the best approach

2008 Arianna Occhipinti Sicilia SP68 [Frappato] (Sicilia IGT, southern Italy) – beautiful flowery developing nose, absolutely beautiful, taste good flavorful entry but delicious food-friendly acidity defines this wine—it even pairs with caesar salad! as well as with more savory italian fare. Beautiful delicious wine for the table

I liked the 07 Occhipinti from Louis Dressner so much that I ordered a full case for myself. Just a good example of a well balanced mid weight red wine. Good acid, a flowery floating above the fray red wine.

2008 Arianna Occhipinti Sicilia SP68

After really liking her straight Frapatto, we tried this a few months ago and weren't as impressed.

Oswaldo, do you know if the SP68 has nero d'avola in addition to the frappato?

Yes, it's a blend of the two. I really loved her straight Nero d'Avola as well (though it tasted, to my puzzlement, like a very fine Loire cab franc), so perhaps the best grapes go into the single varietals, and the others into the blend, which would also explain the price differential.