Sunday, June 10, 2012

Baccarìa Nero d'Avola 2010

I had two disappointing beers last night. In itself, it wasn't a disaster. You win some, you lose some; wine, beer or whisky. But they were pricey, small, 'craft' beers that both felt that they were trying too hard. One was just laden with saccharine notes on the finish. Had I something to follow it, i would've chucked them down the sink. Bummer.

Mindful of last night's travails, I decided to grab a bottle of vino for this evening, even though with the baseball on and minimal efforts regarding dinner, beer seemed more my comfort zone. I chose this because it's a vintage I've not tried and if you can show me a wine that Thorman Hunt imports that fails to be excellent, I'll buy you a pint. It also only cost 50p more than my two shitty beers from last night.

It's made at a big co-op. Just above the label sits a silver sticker that proclaims it's made and bottled in Sicily. I like this. Siciliy ships gobsmacking amounts of wine to be bottled elsewhere, including quite a bit to mainland Italy. It gets blended and mucked about with and beefs up thinner wines. It's both legal and disingenuous. So it's nice to have something with a bit of provenance.

Ruby and purple. Quite light.

Flower petals on the nose with plums and a bit of spice. Pleasant and somewhat summery on the nose.

Palate is light, with a good combination of fruit, flowers and a very gentle dusting of rustic tannin. Simple and really rather nice with my unremarkable lasagne. It opens up nicely as well, growing in the glass with more fruit, savoury notes and grip. This is not rocket science wine, but it's just so good at what it does. Very nice.

**** (under a tenner, drinkable, and better than most pub/wedding reds)

Tasted 10 June, 2012 at Shorehead

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