A selection of Nero d’Avola, Frappato and just a touch of Grenache vines in Filippo’s home vineyard, planted over clay and sand. The grapes are fermented on the skins in tini for a month before being pressed off to old wooden casks for a year of élevage.
The two main varietals sit side-by-side in harmony - Nero d’Avola contributing spice, tannin and robustness while the Frappato contributes ease and red cherry frutiness. This is a wine that feels resolutely Mediterranean, with plush tannins and flavours of sunkissed fruits, flowers and wild, resinous herbs. 2022 certainly feels a little more compact and elegant than previous vintages, the perfect companion sitting alongside some rustic Sicilian food.
Filippo Rizzo's vines are right in the middle of nowhere, on a raised patch of rolling hills in Sicily's interior, with the only reference point being the smouldering peak of Etna peering over the hills. They total five hectares and are up to 60 years old, planted over a mix of sand and clay at an elevation of 430 metres above sea level. There are rather dramatic differences in temperature between day and night, a real boon in this typically Mediterranean climate. Filippo is wary of dogma and simply seeks to make the best wine that each vintage allows. Grapes are only picked when completely ripe and the wines offer complexity, density and balance. Vineyard work is organic and the approach to winemaking is restrained, considered and practical, with the aim to provide characterful expressions of Sicily's native grapes.
