Italy: The South & Islands

Southern Italy is traditionally included with Sicily and Sardinia (latterly referred to as ‘The Islands’) when writing about this prolific wine-growing area, because they share – amongst other things - the same latitude. In recent years this area has been talked about as the future of the Italian wine industry, with a large number of indigenous grapes at its disposal, yet with some notable exceptions, it in general still fails to capture the imagination of the discerning British wine consumer, with overproduction of ‘ordinary plonk’ blighting its image. By the nature of its climate southern Italy traditionally produced rich red wines with strong flavours and excessive alcohol levels, of which there are still many of these in circulation. However I feel that the wines we have selected from this fascinating region show that finesse, elegance and power can be harmonised and that the true expression of their indigenous grapes can be achieved if the quality of winemaking is sufficient – in my view the producers whose wines we have selected certainly fulfil that criteria!

	MandraRossa Cartagho 2006 - Sicilia, Italy Bin No. MANDCART06 Price: £14.75 The Nero d'Avola grapes used in the production of Cartagho are all manually harvested from vineyards between 280 and 350 metres above sea level. Once at the pristine Settesoli winery the grapes are de-stemmed, crushed and fermented at controlled temperature in stainless steel, then racked, pressed and aged for 12 months in French Allier oak barrels before bottling. MandraRossa Cartagho is bright ruby red in colour with hints of purple on the r ..
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	MandraRossa Carthago 2008 - Sicily, Italy Bin No. CARTHAGO08 Price: £15.75 The Nero d'Avola grapes used in the production of the MandraRossa Cartagho are all manually harvested from vineyards between 280 and 350 metres above sea level. Once at the pristine Settesoli winery the grapes are de-stemmed, crushed and fermented at controlled temperature in stainless steel, then racked, pressed and aged for 12 months in French Allier oak barrels before bottling. MandraRossa Cartagho is bright ruby red in colour with hints of ..
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	Planeta Burdese 2006 - Sicily, Italy Bin No. BURDESE06 Price: £21.00 In local dialect Burdese means ‘bordolese’ (from Bordeaux) and refers to the classic grapes of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. This is a red wine of great density, structure and balance, produced in limited quantity from selected vineyards. Burdese is a splendid wine for aging that offers a complexity of aromas and flavours, a product of the Sicilian sun. The Planeta Burdese red wine is made from grapes grown on some of Sicily's fin ..
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	Planeta Carricante 2010 - Sicily, Italy Bin No. PLANETCA10 Price: £17.50 Made from the local white grape Carricante this wine is almost pale yellow in colour. The palate displays green apple, white flowers and honey, typical of the vines grown at such high altitude. From the Press: "Is Mount Etna Italy's greatest secret when it comes to whites? It certainly makes some amazing wines from the Carricante grape: taut, minerally and refreshing. This is stony and crisp with notes of white flowers and lime b ..
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	Planeta Cerasuolo di Vittoria 2009 - Sicily, Italy Bin No. PLANETCV09 Price: £12.50 Made from 60% Nero d'Avola grapes and 40% Frappato grapes the Cerasuolo red wine from Planets is light ruby in colour with a pink and purple hue. Intense fruity bouquet with notes of strawberries, cherries, dry fig and raisins. Palate offers nice tannins followed by a pleasant acidity and round full mouthfeel ..
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	Planeta Chardonnay 2008 - Sicily, Italy Bin No. PLANETCH08 Price: £19.00 All the grapes for the Planeta Chardonnay are harvested during the first half of August. At the winery individual parcels are selected for their ripeness and various levels of acidity and sugar in order to assist in producing the complexities of this fantastic Chardonnay. After de-stemming and crushing, the juice is left overnight to settle whilst being chilled and cold macerated for 8-12 hours. It is then inoculated with pure yeast strains an ..
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	Planeta Cometa 2009 - Sicily, Southern Italy Bin No. PLANCOME09 Price: £19.00 The Planeta Cometa is a white wine made from 100% Fiano grapes; this is an indigenous local white grape variety that is now starting to receive worldwide acclaim and many Italian wine specialists believe it will have as great an impact on the wine-buying public as Pinot Grigio has done in the past few years. Once at the Planeta winery the Fiano grapes are crushed and de-stemmed and the juice is then clarified through settling overnight. It is ..
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	Planeta La Segreta Rosso 2010 - Sicily, Italy Bin No. PLANETSR10 Price: £8.75 The Planeta La Segreta Rosso is a red wine made from a blend of the native Italian Nero d'Avola (60%) grape with the addition of Syrah (20%) and Merlot (20%) grapes. Translated into English La Segreta means 'the secret' something we unfortunately can no longer keep! This fantastic value red from the esteemed stable of Planeta could easily be overlooked when considering its more illustrious counterparts, yet it is certainly worthy of consid ..
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	Planeta Merlot 2006 - Sicily, Italy Bin No. PLANMERL06 Price: £19.00 Grapes for the Planeta Merlot are harvested during the last few weeks of August and once at the winery they are de-stemmed and crushed before spending 14 days macerating on the skins in 150hl stainless steel fermenters. After racking the wine spends a year in 225 litre French Allier oak barrels. The final Planeta Merlot, made from 100% Merlot grapes, is intense red in colour with a strong ruby hue. On the nose the wine displays complex mineral ..
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	Planeta Santa Cecilia 2007 - Sicily, Italy Bin No. SANATCEL07 Price: £21.00 The Planeta Santa Cecilia is a red wine made from 100% Nero D'Avola grapes grown on some of Sicily's finest vineyards. After harvest the grapes are immediately de-stemmed and crushed before maceration. After racking the wine is aged for approximately 12 months in 225 litre French Allier oak barrels. Santa Cecilia is a voluptuous example of the Nero D'Avola grape. Deep purple in colour the wine shows typical plum, berries and liquorice arom ..
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