The Burgundian elegance in a Sicilian wine...

Drinking during this period of forced quarantine hasn’t the same taste and pleasure that there were only a few months ago, when the world seemed different and above all safer. Lightheartedness but above all the pleasure of sharing - which makes the opening and the tasting of a bottle a moment of leisure but at the same time of growth – are missing.

In any case, "the show must go on", and therefore – also to find meaning in a moment that would seem to have none, we cannot escape to open some good bottles.

One of these - certainly the best we drunk during this period - is the Faro Le Casematte 2015, a red wine produced in a small and little bit known (but extremely interesting) area, localized in easternmost part of Messina’s district.

In this area combination of soils, altitude and proximity from the sea gives rise to wines with great elegance (for any aspects comparable to the great reds of Burgundy) but which at the same time maintain the powerful and the character of the land of origin, that Sicily which - incredibly and guilty - it has’t been the destination of our travel, yet.

Without going too far into technical details, wine aspects that have struck us was the cleanliness and finesse of the aromas that inebriate the nose and - above all - the extreme verticality in the mouth, in which freshness and sapidity give pleasantness and dynamism, leading towards a long and particular finish, in which the balsamic notes are joined by an absolutely unconventional mineral note (almost brackish).

So, a great charm wine (probably already close to its evolutionary peak) which, even if for a short time, made us forget the bad moment that our country - but also the whole world - are experiencing during this period.

Faro Le Casematte 2015

 Personal Rating: 93/100

 Grapes: Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio, Nocera, Nero d'Avola

 Aging: 9 months in French oak barrels

 Price range: 15-20 €

TASTING NOTES

 👀 Garnet, light intensity

 👃 Without powerful intensity but at the same time very fine and elegant. Tobacco, noble earth, cherry jam, herbaceous note that remember typical aromas of the Mediterranean bush

 👄Medium-bodied, with an excellent gustatory grip, given by the mix of freshness and sapidity. Tannin integrated on the structure, alcohol holds off. Medium persistence, very deep and particular finish, with balsamic and mineral notes (almost brackish)