This elegant and complex Sicilian red delivers on all fronts. A true Aitken's favourite!

Cortese Sabuci Cerasuolo di Vittoria is a beautiful ruby red, with flecks of garnet. The bouquet is fruit-driven, with aromas of cherries, pomegranate and fruits of the forest, plus cocoa, leather and caramel. Hugely concentrated, the tannins are at the same time firm and persistent.

About the region and producer

While Stefano and Marina Girelli are from Trento in the extreme north of Italy, it is the island of Sicily in the country’s deep south that has captured their hearts. Stefano realised many years ago that Sicily was generally underrated as quality wine producing region and that the potential for making premium wines was tremendous. Crucially, he also recognised that conditions for producing organic, low-intervention wines are perfect on the Sicilian island.

The previous owner of Azienda Agricola Cortese was the formidable matriarch lady Giovanna Cortese. It was some years ago that Giovanna first decided to sell the estate after she realised that she had reached an age when she couldn’t run it by herself, and it had become clear that no one in the family was going to take over.  A true Sicilian, Giovanna is a tough negotiator and it took six years to reach a final agreement on the purchase of Cortese in 2016.

With a total vineyard area of 114,290 ha/282,296 acres, Sicily produced 6 million hl of wine in 2013, making it Italy’s second most important wine region after the Veneto.  In terms of climate and geology Sicily is often, rightfully, considered a continent itself, running counter to its perceived image as a hot, arid island. Climates range from distinctly alpine on Mount Etna, where vineyards up to 1,000 m/3,280 ft elevation are no exception, to the subtropical on the island of pantelleria, which is closer to Tunisia than it is to the province of Trapani to which it administratively belongs. The island’s centre can be hot and dry, although at higher elevations there can be favourable diurnal temperature variability, while many regions are close enough to the coast to benefit from such constant winds that fungal diseases are a rarity except in the wettest of years.  (source - jancisrobinson.com)

Vineyard and Wine Making

Sabuci is the name of the contrada or hamlet where Cortese has been situated since 1930. It is an historical area, perfectly suited to the production of Cerasuolo di Vittoria, which is the reason why it has been given the name “Sabuci” to this wine. The area around Cortese, in the region of Vittoria, was strongly influenced by Greek culture and the very important ancient Greek site of Kamarina is located nearby. The owners at Agricola Cortese have been inspired by ancient Greek culture in the way they have chosen to make this Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico.

HARVEST
Sabuci is made with the best selection of grapes – Nero d’Avola (about 70%) and Frappato (about 30%). The grapes are carefully hand-harvested at the end of September and beginning of October. The grapes are put into small baskets and the temperature is lowered to around 10°C.

VINIFICATION
The two grape varieties are vinified separately, in different ways, but both according to tradition. The Nero d’Avola is fermented in open top barriques, enabling us to follow a really scrupulous process. We carry out follatura (immersion of the skins) by hand and extremely delicately. The Frappato, on the other hand, is fermented in 7hl terracotta amphorae. Terracotta is an amazing material and has been used since ancient Greek times. Its natural porosity allows the ideal oxygen exchange during the fermentation
process. At the same time it also allows the wine to remain in contact with the skins for an extended period of up to 12 months. The wines are blended together and are aged for six months in barriques and botti of various sizes. The wine remains in bottle for at least 3 months before being introduced to the market.