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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!
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| MandraRossa Cartagho 2006 - Sicilia, Italy |
| Bin No. MANDCART06 |
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Price: £14.75
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| 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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| Planeta Burdese 2005 - Sicily, Italy |
| Bin No. BURDESE05 |
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Price: £19.50
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| The Planeta Burdese red wine is made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes grown on some of Sicily's finest vineyards. After de-stemming the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are crushed before maceration on the skins for between 15 and 18 days. After fermentation the wine is aged in French Allier oak (1/2 of which is new) for 12 months followed by a further 12 months in bottle prior to release.
The final Planeta Burdese red wine has intense red berry a .. |
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| Planeta Cerasuolo di Vittoria 2008 - Sicily, Italy |
| Bin No. PLANCDIV08 |
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Price: £11.75
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| 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 2007 - Sicily, Italy |
| Bin No. PLANETCH07 |
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Price: £17.75
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| 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 2008 - Sicily, Italy |
| Bin No. PLANCOME08 |
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Price: £17.75
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| 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 2008 - Sicily, Italy |
| Bin No. PLANETSR08 |
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Price: £7.95
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| 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 |
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Price: £17.75
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| 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 Cecila 2006 - Sicily, Italy |
| Bin No. SANTACEC06 |
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Price: £19.50
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| 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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| Planeta Syrah 2006 - Sicily, Italy |
| Bin No. PLANETSY06 |
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Price: £17.75
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| All of the grapes for the Planeta Syrah are harvested from Planeta's Dispensa and Gurra vineyards. Once at the winery the Syrah grapes are de-stemmed and crushed, followed by the process of extraction on skins with 12 days of maceration. After racking the wine is matured in 225 litre French Allier oak barrels for 12 months.
The final Planeta Syrah is ruby red to deep purple in colour. On the nose the Syrah displays notes of black-cherry and b .. |
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| Santadi Grotta Rossa 2007 - Sardinia, Italy |
| Bin No. GROTAROS07 |
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Price: £10.00
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| The Grotta Rossa red wine is a great introduction for wine drinkers to experience the fantastic potential of the Carignano grape; produced so expertly by the Santadi co-operative winery on the island of Sardinia.
Grapes for the Grotta Rossa are all harvested by hand from the bush trained vines grown in the Sulcis region of Sardinia. At the winery the Grotta Rossa achieves a distinct mellowness from the malolactic fermentation technique and sub .. |
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Displaying Results 1-10 of 13 |
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