Mortellito "Tuttu" Rosso Terre Siciliane '22

Mortellito is in Val di Noto, an area of southeastern Sicily that shares the same latitudes as the desert climate of North Africa. Its vineyards, with limestone and clayey limestone soils, are a few kilometers from the coast, and Dario Serrentino, the owner, has described the coastal growing area as “a desert next to the beach.” While he had always worked on his family’s farm, he was previously a social worker and part-time farmer before becoming a full-time winemaker. For years, he had sold the grapes to other producers, then decided to start bottling his own wines. On his three hectares of land, he works solely with indigenous varieties, and his first bottling was in 2014. His farming practices are certified organic, and all the vineyard work is done by hand.

“Tuttu” (whose name translates to all or everything in Italian) is a field blend of 75% Nero d’Avola, 5% Grillo, 5% Frappato, 5% Insolia, 5% Catarratto, and 5% Perricone. The red and white grapes were cofermented, with native yeasts, for ten days on the skins in stainless steel tanks. Élevage is carried out for six months in stainless steel.

The wine offers notes of fresh, ripe red cherry and raspberry and black plum, along with anise, sage, and coffee. On the palate, the ripe fruit is balanced by fresh, juicy acidity, and the tannins are fine grained. This is a bottle that can be lightly chilled and enjoyed alongside a range of foods, from pizza to burgers to barbecue to a dish of roasted mushrooms with bacon and braised black lentils.