ITALIAN WINE // TWO UNIQUE CHOICES //

ITALIAN WINE // TWO UNIQUE CHOICES //
Cannonau Di Sardegna Resonates // Costa Al Sole Nero D’avola is Organic Excellence

This tasting is of the Sella and Mosca Cannonau Di Sardegna Riserva 2010.
According to the bottle, Sella and Mosca was founded in 1899 and they consider themselves “among the most progressive and magnificent wine estates in Europe.”
Cannonau Di Sardegna comes from the island of Sardinia in Italy. The varietal is Cannonau, which is the region’s name for the Granache wine grape. It’s speculated that Granache may have actually originated from Sardina.
In the glass, this wine is somewhat dark and shows colors of garnet and rust. I noticed that the wine coated the inside of the glass with many bubbles. To be clear, this is not an effervescent wine.
It is a very leggy wine, though. The legs were many and varied in size. They fell at various speeds down the sides of the glass.
The wine’s aroma was pronounced and complex. It was very aromatic and noticeable from a good foot away from the glass after pouring. There were earthy notes of black fruits, primarily. I also noted hints of tar and spice. There was definitely a good whiff of alcohol when sniffed. Alcohol content of this Cannonau Di Sardegna was 14.0% by volume.
When I tasted this wine, I noted deep full bodied flavors of blackberry, black cherry and other dark fruits. The wine’s taste definitely echoed the aroma and was very enjoyable. When initially tasted (prior to letting it breathe) the wine seemed a little young and bright. But, the taste quickly matured with a little air.
The wine had a cottony mouthfeel with nicely behaved tannins noted all over the mouth. Finish of the Cannonau Di Sardegna was medium to long.
Overall, I found this to be a very enjoyable wine. It could be appreciated on its own or paired with red meats. Speaking of appreciation, I recieved this wine as a gift from a friend I recently reconnected with and I’m appreciative of her good taste in wine!
What resonated with me the most about this wine was its complexity in aroma and taste. Consider decanting this wine for a little while before drinking it.

Costa Al Sole Nero D’Avola is an Italian dry red wine bottled in Tortona, Italy. I had the pleasure of sharing this tasting with two close friends and they had a lot of great comments about this wine. Specifically, we reviewed the Costa Al Sole Nero D’Avola 2013. According to the bottle, this wine is Certified Organic.
This was my first time tasting and reviewing the Nero D’Avola varietal. The Nero D’Avola grape is said to be indigenous to Italy and well known in Sicily, per Wikipedia.
Costa al Sole Nero D’AvolaIn the glass, this wine is burgundy in color. It’s not quite red enough to be called ruby and also lacks any rust color you might find in other Italian red wines. The three of us noted just a few slowly falling legs in our glasses.
Aroma of the Costa Al Sole Nero D’Avola was of dark fruits and tobacco. There was a mild whiff of alcohol in the aroma that dissipated with air and time. Alcohol content of Costa Al Sole Nero D’Avola 12.5% per the bottle.
The wine had an earthy and mild flavor. One person noticed the taste of cooked beets and after giving the wine another sip, we all agreed that was the flavor we were trying to figure out. We also noted that, although this wine is very drinkable and smooth, the flavors were not overwhelming on the palate.
We decided the wine had a cottony mouthfeel with delayed tannins that weren’t over developed or grippy. One person described the tannins as “stem-ish” which made us wonder if the organic nature of this wine had any effect on the tannins.
Finish of the wine was medium to long.
Overall, 2 out of 3 of us really enjoyed this wine. The other didn’t warm up to it at first, but felt it did improve quite a bit with air. So, consider decanting this wine to give it a chance to breathe. I personally liked the uniqueness of this wine. It was different than anything I had tried previously, and I enjoy new wine experiences!
Finally, we paired this wine with Cheddar, Asiago and Pepper Jack cheeses. The wine didn’t pair well with the Cheddar. It just washed out the flavor. However, the Asiago and Pepper Jack brought out the wine’s fruit and brightness. We said it “fruited it up!”
Costa Al Sole Nero D’Avola price about $10.00 – $12.00 depending on vintage.So, if you’re up for a unique Italian wine tasting experience, definitely give Costa Al Sole Nero D’Avola a try!

The post Cannonau Di Sardegna appeared first on Honest Wine Reviews.

The post Costa Al Sole Nero D’avola appeared first on Honest Wine Reviews.