Eddie
Posts: 6242
Joined: 12/17/2012
From: central Kentucky
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I just bought 6 bottles of the 2016 Arianna Occhipinti Sicilia SP68 Bianco, and upon adding it to my inventory in CT I noticed two tasting notes that have been added since I placed my order for these. They are interesting, so I thought I'd post them here. One is by our own Forceberry.
Judging from the tasting notes, this wine wouldn't be everyones cup of tea; but I like drinking exotic, out-on-the-edge stuff. Keeps us out of a rut.
XXXXXXXXX wrote:
Zibibbo (Muscato di Alexandria) 60%, Albanello 40%. Average age of 15 years. Organic viticulture.
Winemaker: Arianna Occhipinti
SP68 is name of road running by the winery.
A(ccuracy)=2: Med lemon/gold. Idiosyncratic blend of native varietals.
B(alance)=2: Lots of distinctive elements, not necessarily in harmony.
C(omplexity)=2: Fermented bamboo shoot (instantly recognizable by those familiar with Chao Zhou cuisine), muscato, herbs, bretty leather, mineral, earth.
D(epth)=1: Average length and finish.
Wine Tally Score [2,2,2,1] = 7/10
By devoted Sicilian pioneer of "natural" and "terroir" wine making with cult following.
Forceberry wrote: 89 Points
A blend of organic Zibibbo aka. Muscat of Alexandria (60%) and Albanello (40%). Fermented spontaneously, macerated for 15 days on the grape skins. Aged in concrete for 6 months, bottled unfiltered. 12% alcohol.
Medium deep golden yellow color with a pale bronze hue. Quite reductive nose with somewhat flatulent aromas of hard-boiled eggs; fortunately the nose clears with vigorous aeration, revealing aromas of somewhat green thiol aromas, perfumed floral notes, some caramel, a little bit of dusty and sandy aromas of earth, a hint of slightly grapey or raisiny fruit and a touch of orange zest. The wine is medium-bodied, dry and slightly bretty on the palate with complex flavors of chalky minerality, exotic spices, some ripe citrus fruit, a little bit of perfumed floral character and a hint of bretty leather and barnyard. The wine feels medium-to-moderate in acidity - enough to keep the wine somewhat balanced, but not really enough to make it com across as fresh and vibrant. The finish is dry and bitter with complex and persistent flavors of chalky bitterness, exotic spices, fragrant floral nuances, some lemon marmalade, a little bit of tannic grip, a hint of baked clay and a touch of bretty leather and smoky phenolics.
A nice and lovely little orange wine that was a bit off-putting at first, but came together very nicely with some air - decanting is obviously very recommended. There's a lot of nice complexity here and I really love how easy-drinking this wine is at only 12% ABV, but in my opinion it really needs some more freshness from higher acidity: now the wine feels a bit too round, mellow and lacking energy. There's a lot of good stuff here, but it could be a bit better. Overall a quite nice effort and definitely worth checking out.
I find that Occhipinti's wines need some time in bottle to express themselves, and even then tend to require long decants. I might open one bottle of this per year, to see how it matures.
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RE: Tasting Notes To Note - 
I much prefer wines that allow lots of light to come through 
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