Category Archives: Sicily

2006 Epicuro Nero d’ Avola

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2006 Epicuro Nero d' AvolaPrice: $4.99 @ Trader Joe’s

What They Said:

Per the bottle “Made only with the Nero d’Avola grapes, this is a great wine with a beautiful rich, bright garnered colour and full bouquet redolent of berries, cherries and spices. The flavour is clear-cut, full-bodied and elegant. Perfect with grilled red meats and game. Serve at 18 degrees Celsius.”

What I Think:

I was fired up to find out about this one via a comment from Jesse Porter. I quite enjoyed the Archero offering and had meant to try a pricier version of this varietal but never got around to it. Nevertheless I was thrilled to land this one on a recent shopping trip which I noted via twitter.

To cut to the chase, the nose smells of simple berry fruit with a hint of dustiness and a bit of spice. In the mouth a full bodied, firm structure greets you leading into a supple palate full of light, ripe red fruit. This lasts until within a fraction of the finish when a tart, astringent finale ends the taste. This one is a winner as is Epicuro, they are certainly the most consistent Italian wine label at Trader Joe’s. Feel free to buy this one along with any others offerings from this label you may find.

Rating: Buy It

2005 Archero Nero d’ Avola Ruggero di Tasso

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Price: $3.99 @ Trader Joe’s imported by D’Aquino Italian Imports

What They Said:

Per quaffability (for the 2003 version) “This is a jelly-jar wine, and it went fine with grilled tri-tip served with Arugula salad and Parmesan. I’ve never been to Sicily but I can certainly imagine knocking back this stuff by the carafe in a cafe there. It’s an anti-Parkerized wine. Very light in body, fruity and juicy, without much extract and virtually no tannin. Very little acid, too, so there is a sense of roundness as well as lightness.

The wine is not complex at all it’s just juicy with strawberries, raspberries and cherries. Definitely Quaffable, this would not be bad at all chilled or even on ice.”

What I Think:

My struggles with Italian wine have been almost as covered as the Paris Hilton goes to jail story. That said whenever I visit Delfina Pizzeria they usually have a varietal on the menu there that I have never heard of but enjoy. They turned me on to Aglianico sometime ago. When walking by the other day I just glimpsed and noticed a few Nero d’ Avola offerings on their wine list. It made me smile as I had found this Archero bottling at TJ’s.

So a few nights after walking by I decided to open a bottle to eat with my gourmet TJ’s Mac & Cheese. It was kind of pasta so Italian wine seemed like a good idea. The fruit flavors were definitely present and forward, seeming almost jammy like on the palate. A nice wine but not with this food. I finished it with a glass of milk before enjoying a glass of this as a digestive. I think this one is still best suited to play the role of getting pulled out towards the end of the evening…Of for those of you that like a different wine before dinner this would certainly be an option then as well. TJ’s was nearly out last time I checked but if I find it I am certainly game for a few more bottles at this price.

Rating: Buy It

2005 Archero Nero d’ Avola Ruggero di Tasso

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Price: $3.99 @ Trader Joe’s imported by D’Aquino Italian Imports

What They Said:

Per quaffability (for the 2003 version) “This is a jelly-jar wine, and it went fine with grilled tri-tip served with Arugula salad and Parmesan. I’ve never been to Sicily but I can certainly imagine knocking back this stuff by the carafe in a cafe there. It’s an anti-Parkerized wine. Very light in body, fruity and juicy, without much extract and virtually no tannin. Very little acid, too, so there is a sense of roundness as well as lightness.

The wine is not complex at all it’s just juicy with strawberries, raspberries and cherries. Definitely Quaffable, this would not be bad at all chilled or even on ice.”

What I Think:

This Nero d’ Avola is a wine that I had about a month or so back that piqued my curiosity. I thought I had learned two important lessons then, the first being that this bottle needs some air and the second that it was too light for pairing with food. I think I was wrong on both accounts. I opened this one late one evening as I was enjoying the wine we were having with dinner and was immediately satisfied. Perhaps my expectations were set low but I was pleased with the dark, jam-like flavors on the nose. These translated directly to the palate and the lack of tannins made it thoroughly pleasurable to drink. To top off my list of bad assumptions, the next night I made some pasta in a slightly sweeter, rather than my usual spicy, style and this wine showed well again. This time, it was a glass of this that I wanted to save for tomorrow.

That being said I would guess this has limited range from a pairing perspective so tread carefully or feel free to drink it all on its own. I have yet to try it chilled as mentioned above and likely won’t as it doesn’t fit my fancy. If it does yours, let me know how it goes.

This one certainly deserves that graduation from 12th Bottle to Buy It. At $3.99 you can’t go wrong. This is what I call the perfect “guilt-free” wine for any occasion. At this price you’ll never regret opening another bottle.

Rating: Buy It

2005 Archero Nero d’ Avola Ruggero di Tasso

Posted on by
1

Price: $3.99 @ Trader Joe’s imported by D’Aquino Italian Imports

What They Said:

Per quaffability (for the 2003 version) “This is a jelly-jar wine, and it went fine with grilled tri-tip served with Arugula salad and Parmesan. I’ve never been to Sicily but I can certainly imagine knocking back this stuff by the carafe in a cafe there. It’s an anti-Parkerized wine. Very light in body, fruity and juicy, without much extract and virtually no tannin. Very little acid, too, so there is a sense of roundness as well as lightness.

The wine is not complex at all it’s just juicy with strawberries, raspberries and cherries. Definitely Quaffable, this would not be bad at all chilled or even on ice.”

What I Think:

The bottle says it is from southwest Sicily, not that I have had enough wine from the region to know the difference but thought that I may find it of interest at some point in the future. This wine started slowly but grew on me over the three days that it was open. Strangely, as this is a light wine, I think that it is better without food. It is either that or the air that made the difference in the dramatic improvement after the first night. Still not impressed enough to go buy this in bulk but one bottle is pretty much in my next case just to try it again.

Rating: 12th Bottle