2011 Morgante Nero d'Avola Don Antonio Sicilia IGT 750 ml

The Sicilian Renaissance — Wine Advocate’s 93pt Riserva

In the 1960s and 1970s, the Sicilian wine industry was foundering, not unlike Tuscany. As much of the wine world was making great strides in the vines and the cellar, Sicily was all but left behind. The island continued to churn out oceans of cheap dry wines and sloppily made sweet and fortified wines. Nearly every drop that made it into the export market was produced by local cooperatives, all of which emphasized quantity over quality.

Then, in the mid-1980s, a handful of winegrowers set out to turn the tide. The easiest path to the higher-end consumer was through international varieties, many of which flourished on the sun-drenched soils of Sicily. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Sauvignon Blanc were planted and, little by little, the Sicilians started to carve out a small portion of the fine wine market for themselves.

The commercial success fueled both investment and imagination. Some leading enologists turned their attention back to Italy’s indigenous varieties, especially Nero d’Avola, named after the town of Avola near the southern tip of Sicily. Deep, dark, and sumptuous, with almost Shiraz-like concentration, maturity was never a problem, yet tannin management was. In our opinion, it hasn’t been until the last 10 years that a few producers began turning out fabulously concentrated reds, buttressed by perfectly round tannins. Among those estates, the Morgante family is most responsible for what some have called “The Sicilian Renaissance.”

The 2011 Don Antonio Nero d'Avola Riserva Sicilia IGT is drawn from the steep 25-acre Contrado Palo Gentile vineyard that ranges from 1,485 to 1,815 feet in elevation. The soils here are a classic mix of clay and limestone, much explaining the extraordinary elegance of this Sicilian powerhouse. The 2011 vintage, while superb qualitatively, was challenging economically, as the Morgantes harvested just two tons of Nero d’Avola per acre, accounting for just 30,000 bottles of one of the finest Sicilian wines of the last decade.

Dark purple-black to the rim. Exotic, intense aromas of black cherry, black raspberry with lots of sweet spice, a hint of dark chocolate, cinnamon, and black pepper. Massively concentrated in a New World way, silken in texture, filled with crushed black-and-red-fruit flavors, finishing with dusty, fine-grained tannins. This is a tremendous effort from the Morgantes, a bottle that argues for carving out a corner of your cellar for the most inspired Nero d’Avolas of Sicily.

Just 200 cases made it stateside, a mere 30 earmarked for WineAccess. $48 on release. $28 today, only on WineAccess. Shipping included on 4.

P.S. If you’re a Zinfandel or Aussie Shiraz enthusiast, this is a can’t-miss purchase.