On August 23d-2011 Arianna and Giusto Occhipinti visited Oslo for a tasting of their wines. Giusto as a representant for COS. They
gave us a brief introduction to the wine-area of Vittoria. The soils here are mostly clay with deeper soil to the west. To the
north there are mountains bringing colder winds, while to the south is the sea. The qualitatively best areas are east in the
DOCG-zone. Then first pouring wines was Arianna Occhipinti.
SP68 bianco 2010
A new wine from Arianna Occhipinti. This is made from 50% muscat d’alexandria and 50% albanello. 5-year old vines that Arianna has planted through massal selection. 1 week maceration, stainless steel only. The idea is to blend the aromatic moscato with the more mineral albanella. The colour was yellow. The nose aromatic, spicey. Yellow apples, flowers. Some minerality and “orange-notes” of smoke. Quite fullbodied with good refreshment in the mouth. Fine acidity. Again the fruit seems rather aromatic and easy-going. Quite muscaty. Perhaps some minerality towards the finish. Arianna believes the Albanella will show more up in the wine with time. It is a nice drink now, but rather easy.
SP68 Nero d’Avola e Frappato 2010
70% Frappato, 30% nero d’avola. Fresh fruit on the nose. Young and fresh red berries. Some florality, some anise. Clear and refreshing style in the mouth. Fine fruit. Hinst of frehs red berries, some florality from the Frappato and some anise. Not too deep.Great acidity. Little tannins. Fine wine that should be enjoyed for its refreshing fruit. Very good.
Il Frappato 2009
100% Frappato. 80% of the vines are 55 years old. The rest are young vines. Aged in big neutral barrels. Floral, perfumed nose. Young and typical frappato with very fine depth. Medium bodied in the mouth, yet quite fullbodied for a Frappato. Lots of concentration. This shows more fruit than previous vintages. Red berries, florality, anise. Fine depth, minerality. Good acidity, perhaps a little fatter in the balance than earlier vintages. Light tannins and good length. Young wine. A very good vintage of this wine that could be interesting to age.
Siccagno Nero d’Avola 2008
Deep red colour. Pretty nose. Vert clear nero d’avola. Tar, anise, red berries. A fresh floral element. Fullbodied and structured nero d’avola in the mouth. Yet refreshing style. Clear fruit. Transparent. Red berries. Tar and anise. Young, exciting wine with good depth. Fine acidity for this grape. Tight finish. Young wine, but this was a very good Siccagno that is qualitatively on par with the Frappato. Great wine.
Cerasuolo di Vittoria classico Grotte alte 2006
50% Frappato, 50% nero d’avola. The parts vinified and aged one year separately. Then aged three years after blending. Both parts macerated 30 days with the skins. 4000 bottles made in 2006 which is the debut-vintage for this wine. Next vintage will be ’08. Arianna said she was not sure she would pass the DOCG-board, but it did. Deep red colour. Great nose. Perfumed, lots of depth, minerality. Floral notes. Tar and anise. Structured and tight wine in the mouth. This is still surprisingly young. Fine fruit and more depth than the other reds. Good acidity. Tannic end. This needs more time to open up. Great wine and my favorite of the day.
Passonero nero d’avola 2008
Passito from Nero d’Avola. 16,5% alc/vol and some residual sugar. Dark colour. Dark sweet berries, anise, chocolate on the nose. Fullbodied and tannic in the mouth. Some sweetness, but not that much residual sugars. Very dark fruited. Some anise, chalk. Good acidity and fine zip. Tannic and dry finish. Clear and fruity wine with good depth. Great wine that probably will be a good match to dark chocolate.
Then next up was Ariannas uncle Giusto Occhipinti presenting the wines of COS. The firm was founded in 1980 by Giambattista Cilia,
Giusto Occhipinti and Cirino Strano. Today only Cilla and Occhipinti are involved. During the last 10 years the wine-company has gradually moved to a more
nature-oriented winemaking. Biodynamic farming, amforas, long macerations are parts of the productions. Personally I feel that
COS handles the long macerations in a good way, not letting the bitterness and tannic expression come in the way of the wines depth
and balance, which unfortunately happens too often in the wines of other nature-oriented producers. Especially to me the
Pithos-wines delivers great wines for a fair price.
Rami 2010
White made from Inzolia and Grecanico. Lightly golden colour. Some clay and anise on the nose. Minerality. Fullbodied white in the mouth. Refreshing style. Good concentration. Pure style. Very lightly “orange”-notes. Medium to good acidity. Light tannins in the back. Nice wine, but seems like a more easy-going version of the next wine.
Pithos bianco 2009
100% grecanico aged in anfora. 8 months maceration. Lightly golden colour. At first more aromatic notes. But also a deeper minerality than the Rami. Smoke, minerality. Some florality. More complexity. Refreshing style in the mouth. More acid-driven than tannic. Fine acidic zip, only lightly tannic end for an “orange-wine”. Especially given the long maceration. Very good.
Frappato 2010
12 years old vines. Light red colour. Parts of the wine aged in anfora. Floral and lightly candied nose. Light red berries, some sweetness in the fruit. Light wine in the mouth. Young and bright. Some refreshing qualities. Easy-going Frappato. Good acidity. Little tannins. Good, but not on par with Ariannas varietal Frappato.
Pithos rosso 2009
According to Giusto Occhipinti this was supposed to be a Cerasuolo di Vittoira, but did not pass the DOCG-tasting. 60% Nero d’avola, 40% Frappato. Aged in anfora, 8 months maceration. Clean red colour. More depth in the fruit. Red berries, anise, mienrality. Fine nose. Structured CdV in the mouth. Acid-driven. Young and clear fruit. Tempting now. Quite open, but still on the young side. Fine acidity, some tannins showing on the finish. Great wine, especially for the price.
Cerasuolo di Vittoria classic 2008
60% Nero d’avola, 40% Frappato. Aged in concrete-tanks. 18-30 days of maceration. Deeper colour than the Pithos. Resembles the Pithos on the nose, but has more anise and darker berry-notes. Powerful in the mouth. More fruit, bolder structure. Darker fruited. Some anise. Fine, but also perhaps a little more easy-going. A little more depth in the Pithos. Fine acidity. Tannic end. Very good wine.
Contrada Nero d’Avola 2007
Parts of this wine has seen some wood. This is a more conventionally made wine. Dark colour. Lightly sweetish nose. Some anise, dark berries, earth. Touch of wood –not much. Powerful wine in the mouth. Lots of fruit and concentration. Quite clear and concentrated nero d’avola. Still young and unevolved. Pretty acidity for this grape. Tannic end. Young and needs time. Not as giving today and perhaps not as exciting as the Pithos, but this might be interesting with more age. Very good.
Arnt Egil Nordlien
Tasting note: August-11
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