2020 Feudo Solaria Nero D'Avola 'Foglio Cinquanta'

100% Nero d’Avola. Hand harvested from vines in northeastern Sicily, fully destemmed and fermented in stainless steel. Aged for 6 months in French and American oak. 13% alcohol. 

Light to medium in body but bold in flavor, this is a bit darker and smokier than your average Nero d’Avola. The nose is sweet yet tangy, with aromas of black cherry, plum, dark chocolate, licorice and tobacco. On the palate, notes of sugar plum and candied cherry stand up to the bitterness of blood orange peel and more dark chocolate. Mostly smooth but with a hint of grippy tannins. Dry but not bone dry, with fairly mellow acidity.

Founded in 1887, five generations have farmed these vineyards in Milazzo of northeast Sicily. Today, Alessio, along with his sons Tullio and Carmelo, passionately remain committed to preserving tradition and skill, while utilizing sustainable practices and modern methods to produce quality wines consistently from year to year. All grapes are grown organically without chemical treatments and only vegetal fertilizers are used in the vineyards. The light and warmth of the Sicilian sun, together with the light coastal breeze and the beneficial temperature ranges, allow grapes to gradually ripen up to the moment of hand-harvesting, giving the wines pleasantly rounded notes and full expression. Under the Feudo Solaria label they bottle clean, expressive Sicilia wines with a light hand in the cellar and a focus on clarity of fruit and place. What we admire is the house philosophy: organic farming principles, stainless-steel fermentations for purity, and oak used as an accent—if at all—rather than a costume. The aim isn’t “big”; it’s “true.”