The
wines of Casa Vinicola Calatrasi: Sicily, Puglia and Tunisia
Southern Italy produces a remarkable amount of wine. Sicily
alone produces more wine than Australia, and Puglia a similar amount.
So how come we don’t see more of it in the UK? Well, there’s a
problem. Almost all of these wines are crap. They are wine-lake plonk,
unloved and unlovely. But think of the potential. Sicily and Puglia
are blessed with lots of suitable ‘terroirs’ and a climate that
makes growing ripe grapes relatively straightforward. And companies
like Calatrasi, based in San Ciparello (near Palermo), are leading the
quality revolution. It’s hardly rocket science. You just need to
concentrate on making affordable wines that people want to drink.
Simple enough, but it’s a goal that has consistently eluded most of
the plonk-producing centres of European wine production thus far.
Calatrasi have a three-pronged approach. Back in July 2000
they hired three Australians, Brian Fletcher (of Evans & Tate
fame, among others), Lisa Gilbee and Linda Domas. As well as their
Sicilian operation (headed up by Brian), Calatrasi are also making
wines from Puglia (that’s Lisa’s job; she’s been making wines in
Italy on and off since 1992) and Tunisia (Linda’s domain). They made
the wines in 2000, but 2001 was the first vintage they had full
control over. By the way, did you realise that Tunisia had as much as
17 000 ha of vines? Nor did I.
I first got switched on to the Calatrasi wines by tasting an
impressive example at a Majestic press tasting about 18 months ago.
Later, I tried some more at last year’s ‘Definitive Italian
Tasting’, and then caught up with Brian for a curry last September.
Most of the wines described below were tasted with Lisa in January
2002 at the Bibendum
press tasting, but I’ve added in some extra notes from wines tasted
at the London Trade Fair in May 2002 (again with Lisa), and a few cask
samples consumed at home in late 2001 (these are indicated where
appropriate).
What are the wines like? The UK trade has made a lot of fuss
about the Inycon wines (made by Sicilian company Settesoli), and UK
critics have been (over?) generous in their ratings of them. Well,
these Calatrasi wines are similarly priced, but in my view they are
streets ahead of the Inycon wines in terms of quality. I’m actually
quite excited by the Calatrasi wines. They’re not geek wines
demanding lengthy contemplation, but they achieve what they set out to
do admirably: these are brilliant commercial wines. The world needs
good cheap wine. While they are made in a modern, fruit-forward style,
they retain some regional character. Expect to see them improve yet
more as Brian, Lisa and Linda get more familiar with their
territories.
Terrale Chardonnay 2001 IGT Puglia
Rich tropical fruit nose with a citrussy edge. Crisp and fresh on
the palate with spicy, citrussy flavours preventing the wine from
becoming at all blowsy and fat. Impressive commercial winemaking. Very
good (price around £4.30)
Terrale Cattarato 2000 IGT Sicilia
There’s an attractive nutty edge to the youthful, boiled sweets
nose. The palate is fresh and spicy with more boiled sweets character.
There’s some interest here; a very modern style. Very good (£4.30)
Terrale Primitivo 2001 IGT Puglia (tank sample)
Tank fermented, but with some oaking (barrel staves). Bright
purple colour. Rich and quite concentrated, there’s a roasted, meaty
edge to the rich fruit on the nose. The attractive savoury, fruity
palate shows good density and a touch of spicy complexity. Tasty
stuff. Very good+ (£4.30)
Terre di Ginestra Cattarato 2001 IGT Sicilia (tank sample)
Spicy boiled sweets nose leads to a palate showing a good
concentration of fruit. Really too youthful to assess properly and
still pretty ‘tanky’.
Terre di Ginestra Nero d’Avola 2000 IGT Sicilia
Lots of sweet fruit on the nose: there’s a bit of alcohol
evident, but there’s a nice savoury, herby, slightly spicy character
too. The palate shows a good density of herby fruit. Quite
characterful, and works really well despite the slightly hot finish.
But that’s just being a bit picky…. Very good+
Accademia del Sole Cattarato/Viognier 2001 IGT Sicilia
(tank sample)
Fresh, spicy palate with a boiled sweets edge: youthful, with some
attractive citrussy character. There’s a good density of nutty,
spicy fruit here. Very good+ (Safeway £4.99)
(my note on this wine from a bottled version, tasted May 2002: Fresh
and aromatic with a boiled sweets/pear drop edge. Lots of fruit here.
Very good)
Accademia del Sole Nero
d’Avola/Cabernet 2001 IGT Sicilia
Bright red/purple colour. This is a little bit shy on the nose,
with some liquoricey sweetness to the dark fruit. Lovely density of
savoury, spicy berry fruit on the palate with some tannic structure.
Quite serious for the price. Very good+ (Majestic £4.99)
(my note on this wine from a bottled version, tasted May 2002: Quite a
roasted nose, with nice dense spicy plumy fruit. Ripe and easy, but
there are some tannins here. Very good+)
Accademia del Sole Sangiovese/Negroamaro 2000, IGT Puglia
There’s a pronounced spicy/roasted character to the nose. Palate
shows a good density of rich, savoury, spicy fruit. Quite a dry
finish: very savoury. Very good (Safeway £4.99)
Accademia del Sole Sangiovese/Negroamaro 2001, IGT Puglia
(tasted May 2002) The Sangiovese component is higher this vintage
because it did better than the Negroamaro. Very rich liqouricey fruit
on the nose. Rich and sweetly fruited on the palate, with good density
and a spicy edge. Very attractive. Very good+ (Safeway £4.99)
Accademia del Sole Syrah 2000 Tunisia
Quite light in colour
with attractive, accessible sweet fruit on the nose. The palate is
medium bodied with lots of juicy, sweet fruit and plenty of southern
character. Delicious, if a little unusual. Very good+ (£6.07 Bibendum)
Accademia del Sole Carignan 2001, Tunisia
(tasted May 2002) Lisa says that this is a variety that copes well
with the heat in Tunisia. Quite a deep colour, this has a nice spicy
nose with a roasted coffee edge. Concentrated and juicy on the palate
with savoury fruit and a spicy edge. Impressive effort. Very good+ (Sainsbury
£5.49)
Selian 2000 Tunisia
The pick of the 2000 vintage in Tunisia, some 3000 cases were
made. Expressive, tight spicy nose with some sweet fruit. Palate is
quite dense and displays rich, herb-tinged fruit. Lots of character.
Very good+
Allora Primitivo 2001 IGT Puglia (tank sample)
Made from contracted ‘bush vine’ fruit, this is the first year
that Lisa has had full control over both the viticulture and
winemaking. The result is very impressive. Deep red/purple in colour.
The nose shows deep liquoricey, dark fruit with some spicy, roasted
character. Lovely rich spicy palate with great concentration and
depth, and some sweetness to the fruit. Delicious stuff. Very good+
Allora Primitivo 2001 IGT Puglia
(Bottled wine tasted in May 2002) This is a rich, herby, complex
wine with lots of richness. Quite powerful and fleshy with a great
density of sweet fruit. Perhaps just a touch muted when compared with
the cask sample tried a few months earlier. Very good+
Superpremium 2000 IGT Sicilia
There’s a lovely rich spiciness to the nose, which displays dark
fruit. The palate is rich with some spicy oak and a lovely density of
rich dark fruit. Aussie style with a lovely savoury edge, and showing
good density. Very good+
Superpremium 2001 IGT Sicilia
Lovely rich nose showing exotic berry fruits, with a roast coffee
edge. Concentrated, richly fruited palate with lots of spicy, savoury
oak and some tannin. Very rich, and quite showy. This is impressive
stuff: nicely savoury, and not just big and overripe. Very
good/excellent
Terre di Ginestre Nero d'Avola 2000, Casa Vinicola
Calatrasi, Sicilia
Initially muted nose opens out to show some sweet, herby cherry
fruit. The fruity, herby palate shows a tea leaf and tobbacco edge
with some hints of undergrowth and spice. Medium bodied, with good
acidity, but just a touch alcoholic. Interesting stuff. Very good
(cask sample tasted 09/01)
Terre di Ginestre Superprimium 2000, Casa Vinicola
Calatrasi, Sicilia
A youthful dense purple/red colour. Warm, roasted nose with
dominant smoky, roast coffee elements, and spicy, ripe berry fruit;
after a while in the glass, lush vanilla-laced fruit comes to the
fore. The palate is intensely savoury, showing ripe cherry and
raspberry fruit, dry, dusty tannins and quite high alcohol. It's
completely clean, without the rusticity evident in many southern
Italian wines. Very good+ (cask sample tasted 09/01)
UK
agent: Bibendum
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08/06/02
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