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Community Tasting Notes 25
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David Paris (dbp) wrote: 92 points
April 12, 2017 - My last bottle, 7 years after my first. Color is quite dark. Aromas are very pretty and certainly still show this Amarone character. Absolutely beautiful, expressive nose, showing scrumptious, sophisticated tar and black dried cherry notes, earth, soil, graphite... wow, I love this! The aroma is just killer... killer. The most beautiful expression of Nero I've had, on the nose. The palate enters with a nice weight, but beautiful smooth attack of tart acid and coating smoothness. I absolutely love the acidic attack on the palate, but being coupled with dark sweet dried fruit it's such a fun, interesting juxtaposition. Again, wow this is good! Honestly, the longer its held in the mouth the better its tasting. Just beautiful, beautiful balance. The finish is sharp, showing bright acid, meat sauce, dark cherry sauce, and it's the richness and acidity that linger. The finish isn't quite as delicious as the nose and palate, but that's those first two pieces are just so amazing that's not surprising. This is punching well above its weight. I wish like crazy I could get more of this. Hindsight being what it is, I wish I had two cases of this and stored them until now. This did need a good hour to come around, so if you have any, wait just a bit before diving in. I wish I didn't dive so deep with a couple glasses with dinner. By itself now after dinner, it's best.
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David Paris (dbp) wrote: 90 points
February 15, 2015 - The bottle I had of this last year had me worried that it was headed down hill, but I think that was an off bottle as this is drinking nicely today. Aromas are beautiful, offering chalky graphite, tar, gravel dust, some cherry and dark strawberry. Absolutely love the earthy nose. Palate entry is immediately acidic, showing a coating texture of mild tannin; darker complected fruit, but still on the red spectrum. More of the gravel, but this time it's whole chunks. Acidic attack on the finish, showing some very slight tertiary notes, but mostly this is in a secondary stage and drinking quite lovely. There's some slight tinge of alcohol noted at the tail end, but this for the most part doesn't get in the way of enjoyment. This may or may not continue to hold at this stage... I doubt I'll care much whether I consume my remaining bottle this year or in ten.
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David Paris (dbp) wrote:
April 27, 2014 - No formal notes, but this was enjoyable. Certainly into tertiary development that was unnoticed with my last bottle 4 years ago. Lovely throughout, and on the darker side of the spectrum. Pretty soft. I think these are ready to go, and will look to explore another bottle in greater detail soon.
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JeffnCin Likes this wine:
August 1, 2013 - Having seen this compared to amarone, I expected it to be heavier than it is. The wine is much lighter through the mid palate (in a nice way), and it doesn’t have the heavy stewed fruit of a ripasso wine. There are similarities in flavors of plum, dark fruit, and just a hint of raisins. Really interesting finish of celery salt. On the nose, this is all about musty black pepper, some herbs, and blackberries. It paired nicely with a rich veg. lentil stew.
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curtispomeroy Likes this wine: 90 points
May 13, 2013 - This is a very nice wine that help up quite well over two nights. For us it strikes a nice balance between old and new world.
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Pro Reviews 2
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By Richard Jennings
1/14/2011 (link) 88 points(Martorana Il Nero dei Greci) Very dark red violet color; baked berry, bean nose; baked berry, tart berry, tart black fruit palate; medium-plus finish
Garagiste
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By Jon Rimmerman
2/19/2008 (link)(MARTORANA Nero dei Greci) Nero Dear Friends, Sicily remains one of the finest untapped sources of wine in Europe and for those that are fans of the ripasso tones of Amarone but can do without the massive alcohol and residual sugar, this is your wine Martorana is a jewel of a winery, owned by consecutive generations of one family and their wine remains mostly unknown in the US. This is a good thing for you as the prices have remained very reasonable. Not only do they produce one of Italy’s finest white wines (yes, a gorgeous terroir focussed white in Sicily that is not over-ripe and alcoholic) but their different versions of Nero d’Avola (Sicily’s patron red varietal) have become as desireable as any wine in Sicily (to locals and European nationals - most in the US have never heard of Martorana....for now). The wine we offer below is Martorana’s high-end Nero d’Avola, it is sourced from their best vineyard material and usually retails for $35-45. It is a very ambitious effort that combines the above mentioned Amarone overtones with a more regal and cleansing approach without sacrificing the old-world, earth and spice drenched style that is its hallmark. I believe you will fall in love with this wine at its normal price of $35-50 but for much less we’re headed down deal of the year territory. I would normally go into more detail but the quantities at this tarrif are not large enough. We have an exceptional deal on this item - half price, which seems like a good enough incentive to introduce it to the US market - I think you will agree. Think of this like a bottle of Allegrini La Poja. ONE SHIPMENT ONLY at this price with perfect provenance directly from the source - we will have a second shipment in late spring for $25-29 (depending on Euro exchange rates). 2003 Martorana “Nero dei Greci” Riserva (Nero d’Avola) Please give us your maximum number up to 6/person and we will allocate accordingly. Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Italy7232
Wine Definition
- Vintage 2003
- Type Red
- Producer Martorana
- Varietal Nero d'Avola
- Designation Il Nero dei Greci
- Vineyard n/a
- Country Italy
- Region Sicily
- SubRegion n/a
- Appellation Sicilia
Community Holdings
- Pending Delivery 3 (2%)
- In Cellars 40 (26%)
- Consumed 111 (72%)
Food Pairing
Community Recommendations
lentil stewWho Likes This Wine
100% Like It 2 votes
More About This Wine
Articles
- ProducerMartorana
- VarietyNero d'Avola
- CountryItaly
- RegionSicily
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- ProducerMartorana
- VarietalNero d'Avola
- DesignationIl Nero dei Greci (add)
- CountryItaly
- RegionSicily
- AppellationSicilia (add)