Stephanie

8.9

At Paige’s, Sweet 27 only. — 5 years ago

Tina Penman

10

Spicy light delish. My taste buds have also been dulled by a recent virus but it does taste spicy to me — 5 years ago

Angelo Casagrande

9.1

Big and rich with a bit of oak. Fruity- plums and blackberry and some pepper. Tannins were smooth and the wine had such a full, round feel. Excellent. — 6 years ago

Karoline Elgesem

9.5

Good drinking wine. — 8 years ago

Briana Levine

9.0

Dry, buttery minerals — 8 years ago

Nenad Kesin

8.9

Very pleasent wine, low acid, low tannins, lots of juicy fruits. And rather cheap for what it offers. — 8 years ago

Mikey T

9.0

Wow, what a deal at < $20 / bottle
Wine spectator says #69 of top 100 of 2014.
A burly, brambly red, underscored by tarry smoke and underbrush notes, offering flavors of blackberry coulis, herb-marinated black olive, grilled mushroom and ground spice. This shows muscle that recommends it to short-term cellaring, made accessible by integration and balance. Drink now through 2024. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. #69 – 91 points — 8 years ago

Nick Arensdorf

9.1

Rich aroma of blueberry, cherry, and blackberry; bouquet of some oak and hint of anise if you search for it; surprisingly smooth tannin for 2018. $22 from BGarden — 5 years ago

Tom Frymire

8.9

Nice dry red from Sicily. Very happy! — 6 years ago

Rob Worthington-Kirsch

9.5

Very smooth. — 7 years ago

Jennifer Lerner

8.9

Strong blackberry notes. Smoothe finish — 7 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.3

Apparently Tasting Note Tuesday
is now a thing (thanks for the heads up @Greg Ballington). That said, I’m still an advocate of everyday of the week, but I’ll participate nonetheless.

A wine such as this requires serious research. Fortunately Ian D’Agata’s notes in Vinous are indispensable: “Feudo Montoni’s greatest wine is the Nero d’Avola Vrucara, a single vineyard wine made from roughly 80-100 year-old vines that grow at 500 meters above sea level. Most of the vines are of pre-phylloxera origin, and are therefore ungrafted. The vineyard’s name derives from the Sicilian word vruca, a local herb that grows in the vineyards and exudes aromas of menthol and incense. The Vrucara vineyard is especially beautiful, a field of gnarly, very thick trunked and low-lying bush vines hugging the dark mainly clay soils (with a little loam and sand). Vinification is... very traditional... At its best, Vrucara is a benchmark Nero d’Avola, eschewing the vanilla notes of more modern interpretations of Nero d’Avolas, while offering multilayered violet, blueberry, macerated red cherries in alcohol, tar and spicy aromas and flavors, with a characteristic hint of eucalyptus and incense.”

The 2012 doesn’t veer off course. Benefits from an hour open, but a few would be ideal. A mashup of spiced cherry and blackberry is hard to miss, but the floral, earthen, and leather entanglement is the attraction here and clearly terroir driven. There’s a noticeable clay pot and smoked meat component which beautifully emphasizes how old world this wine really is. The oak treatment is evident, but the wine is also able to withstand a fair amount and still proudly carry its old world card. — 8 years ago

Yuki Watanabe

9.2

Full body but very little acid, smooth — 9 years ago

Natalia Rodriguez

10

Had it with Chinese food, delicious — 5 years ago

Philip Dobrin

9.0

Perfect pizza wine. Actually works with something more serious but works very well with wood fired or coal fired pizza — 6 years ago

Alice Graulty

9.0

Mostly smooth, some sweet but also dry. Slight tannin finish, but not much. Good with cheese. — 7 years ago

with Corinne

Mallory

9.3

light summery red – we really enjoyed this — 8 years ago

Amie Brown

8.9

When in Sicily... drink local #sicilianwine — 8 years ago

Nate Wall

Winemaker at Troon Vineyard

9.0

Honeydew melon, apricot, mandarin orange, pear, hay, subtle white flowers. Having never tasted Petite Arvine, this was fuller, richer and lower acid than I was anticipating for an “alpine white”. Almost caramel apple like on the palate. I see some similar characteristics with Savoie Altesse. Interesting. — 8 years ago

Nic Z

9.0

Chocolate, spicy, young. Got some rough edges but good value and unusual — 9 years ago