WTN: My first Frappato

Friday was a scorcher, too hot for the patio, though Betsy sent me out to grill some squash. Main course was a lamb chop recipe from her Sonoma diet cookbook, with a tzaziki sauce. Cokbook suggested Zinfandel, but only ones in cellar required moving cases, and I was tired. I had no idea what to expect from my one bottle of Frappato, but decided to give it a try. The 2005 Valle dell'Acate Frappato was a very nice surprise, and not at all like any previous Sicilian wine I had tried. Bright raspberry and bitter cherry fruit, light-bodied, good acidity. Nose develops- very floral, with a earth/plantfood aroma I usually associate with Gamay. Despite lightness, there are some ripe tannins, and it stands up well to the lamb, while at same time handling the chile/cilantro crust. Nice wine, nice value at $14. B/B+

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency

Thanks for the note, Dale. I've got this wine on my to buy list and you've moved it up near the top.

I'm planning a outdoor event in a couple of weeks, and it would be fun to add to the wines on offer for a couple of advanced geeks.

Regards, Bob

[James Roscoe]

Dale, great notes as always. The Frappato sounds like it might be a nice summer red, great for a patio or bbq as Bob R plans. What do you think/ It also sounds like 20 - 30 mins in the fridge might not be a bad thing if you were out on the deck on an August evening. Again thoughts if you have 'em. Finally, I assume I could find this in a reputable DC wine store or is this a NYC only distribution?

This is a new one on me, and I'll see if I can find some in the area. Although the name does make it sound like something you'd get at Starbuck's.




Mike

I just drank that same wine, very interesting. Seems to be an aromatic red variety, extremely fruity; you can see why it's normally blended with Nero d'Avola (as Cerasuolo di Vittoria).

Definitely better with half an hour in the fridge.

I took straight from passive cellar, probably 65°F this time of year,. Last night we had leftovers (just recorked and in frdge for 2 days) with some puttanesca pasta, holding fine and quite nice cool.