2021 Tenuta di Castellaro Nero Ossidiano
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The organic Tenuta di Castellaro 2021 Nero Ossidiana is a blend of 90% Corinto and 10% Nero d'Avola. The two grapes are harvested several weeks apart with the later-ripening Corinto coming in during the first part of October. It starts off with a blackish garnet color and savory aromas of spice, dusty mineral and pencil shaving. However, there is a pretty spot of cherry or raspberry that is not the dominant aroma but is otherwise important to the identity of this unique, medium-bodied red blend from the tiny Aeolian Islands off the northern coast of Sicily. It closes with sudden tartness. Winemaking starts off in steel and concludes with mostly neutral oak and some used barrique. This is a release of 12,500 bottles.
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Tamlyn Currin, jancisrobinson.com
Monica Larner, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Full bottle 1,309 g. Certified organic (Ecocert), vegan friendly (Bio Vegan Attitude). Blend of Corinto Nero and 'a spoon of' Nero d’Avola, 'to give a bit of spiciness and structure'. Corinto Nero is indigenous and unusual. It survived phylloxera, is seedless with very delicate skins, low yielding, high acidity, low pH. It struggles to reach 13% on the island. Fine-boned, the finest of tannins, and there is a glorious abandon to the dark-cherry, wild-raspberry fruit. You can taste the stones and the salt of the sea and sting and tang and you can almost feel the wind in every mouthful. It's delicate and yet it's strong. The tannins are translucent, but they're there, and they pull at your mouth with playful bitterness, playing hide and seek behind the coffee beans and stones and the cranberries that pop into juice on the finish. You could chill this a little. You could have this with seafood. (TC)
Spicy to the core, the 2021 Nero Ossidiana opens with a burst of mocha and coffee grounds, giving way to violet-laced blackberries and balsamic spice. This is round and mouthwatering, with soft textures and chocolate-infused red and black fruits that slowly saturate the palate. An air of lavender lingers as grippy tannins tug firmly at the cheeks. The Nero Ossidiana is a blend of 90% Corinto Nero and 10% Nero d'Avola.