Perricone

Synonymous with pignatello, perricone is one of the most identifiable red grapes of Sicily, especially the western side. It had great success in the nineteenth century when it was used - as it still is today, but it is a real niche product - to produce Marsala rubino, a red version of the famous fortified wine. Then, thanks to phylloxera and the difficulty to cultivate it (as well as its low productivity, even though the vine is very resistant to drought), it was almost abandoned, and ended up occupying less than 0.5% of the total Sicilian vine. On compact, clayey soils, it best expresses its qualities as a structured, rather muscular red wine with intense tannin. Rustic, surly and rather rough, especially when young, perricone is often vinified in a blend with nero d'Avola, which softens it. However, as part of its recovery over the last twenty years, it is also found as a single variety, and on the nose gives spicy notes of juniper and black pepper and, on the palate, solid tannin, strong structure and a pleasantly almond finish.