Mandrarossa 'Costadune' Nero'dAvola is medium ruby red in colour with purple hints. On the nose, it has aromas of black cherries, plums and red berries. The palate is velvety with intense fruit flavours of plums and red berries.

First produced in 1999, the Mandrarossa wines come from a selection of the best sites from Cantine Settesoli’s 6,000 hectares of vineyard, situated in southwestern Sicily and planted with 32 different grape varieties. This range was conceived after the diverse soils of the vineyards were mapped, enabling the winemakers to focus on what were then ranked their best sites. Under the leadership of co-operative president Giuseppe Bursi, consultant winemaker Alberto Antonini has sought to improve viticulture, which in turn has resulted in better wines. Working with soil specialist Pedro Parra and head winemaker Mimmo De Gregorio, Alberto has selected 500 hectares of vineyard for the production of the Mandrarossa wines. These vineyards are situated close to the sea, where intense sunlight, moderating sea breezes, mild temperatures, multiple elevations and a myriad of different soil types combine to give the sort of grapes that Mimmo and Alberto are looking for.

Vineyard and Winery

The vineyards for this wine are located near Menfi on the southwestern coast of Sicily, at an altitude of 250 metres above sea level. They are south and west facing and planted on sandy soils. Vines are Guyot trained, with a density of 4,300-5,000 plants per hectare.

The harvest of refined grapes were performed using a mechanical night harvest, over a period of 40 days. This guaranteed the preservation of the quality of the grapes at an excellent level. Maceration and fermentation took place over the course of four to six days at 22-25°C. The wine was matured in steel vats for around four months before bottling.