LAMORESCA
Elsa 2020
Sicily, Italy
This riserva of sorts comes from a selection of the best grapes Filippo harvested and is mostly composed of Nerello Mascalese with a little Frappato and Nero d’Avola in the mix. Depending on the variety, the grapes spent between a week and two months on the skins, followed by a year in cement vats and a further two years in bottle before release. Time has rendered a deep, savoury and complex wine with mature fruit, herbs and brine combining to beautiful effect.
Nerello Mascalese, Frappato, Nero d’Avola
ABOUT THE PRODUCER
Filippo Rizzo’s vines are right in the middle of nowhere, on a raised patch of rolling hills in Sicily’s interior, with the only reference point being the smouldering peak of Etna peering over the hills.
They total five hectares and are up to 60 years old, planted over a mix of sand and clay at an elevation of 430 metres above sea level. There are rather dramatic differences in temperature between day and night, a real boon in this typically Mediterranean climate.
Filippo is wary of dogma and simply seeks to make the best wine that each vintage allows. Grapes are only picked when completely ripe and the wines offer complexity, density and balance.
Vineyard work is organic and the approach to winemaking is restrained, considered and practical, with the aim to provide characterful expressions of Sicily’s native grapes.