2008 Occhipinti SP68 Sicilia IGT 12.5%
L0209 bottling. Blend of Nero d’Avola and Frappato, I wonder if from grapes that don’t qualify for the varietals. Dark sour cherry with sage and cloves. Before food, good acidity bite, slightly candied sweetness. Remained fragrant and enjoyable throughout the meal, with good density, light tannins and ideal alcohol. Ideal for avuncular picnics. Shows more balance than a bottle we had last November, but remains short of the Nero d’Avola Siccagno, a thing of beauty, and not as giddily enjoyable as the straight Frappato, the epitome of spacecadet (frappato being a mutation of melon de bourgogne, brought down by the Dukes of Burgundy when they spent their winters in Sicily, a mandatory stop on the grand tour; incidentally, for you trivia mavens, the pinot noir they planted did not mutate into nero d’avola).