2021 Occhipinti Grotte Alte

Perhaps the most ambitious of Arianna Occhipinti’s wines.

Grotte Alte is a territory: the limestone ridges above Vittoria, Arianna’s hometown in southeastern Sicily. It is also her most cellar-worthy expression of Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico DOCG, Sicily’s only DOCG.

Sourced from old-vine Frappato and Nero d’Avola planted around 1980, the vineyards are rooted in Vittoria’s characteristic red sand and clay over white limestone. Farmed organically and biodynamically and tended by hand, the wine is fermented spontaneously with native yeasts in concrete, then aged for approximately 48 months in large French oak casks before bottling unfined and unfiltered.

Tasting note
Wild strawberry, red cherry and peony meet Mediterranean herbs, cinnamon and crushed stone. The palate is savoury and saline, with fine tannins, vibrant acidity and a long, mineral finish. 

50% Frappato, 50% Nero d’Avola 
13% ABV
95 points, James Suckling | 94 points, Wine Spectator