Terrafirma Nero d'Avola from Sicily 2010

I joined a local wine group this week for a tasting and David - one of the members had very kindly picked 6 wines to taste blind - some were easier than others, this was the second wine tasted on the evening!

This was obviously a young wine, it was ruby with strong purple tints and a kind of blackness too it. On the nose it was perfumed, spice and red fruits figured in its makeup - sweet dried fruit (like christmas cake) and a slightly musty edge ( this said Italian to me, alot of their wines have a mustiness to it, not a negative, just part of the base composition ). Tasting it told me that it was silky smooth, had warm alcohol but in balance, and the tannins were quite low and smooth, the acidity was fresh but quite supportive of the structure of the wine.
I felt this wine was from a cool climate from the flavour profile, fine grained - chiselled, so it was a surprise when I found out that it was from Sicily( quite warm.... to say the least )and the Nero d'Avola grape......  On research I found that the fruit for this wine is sourced from two vineyards. The first is near Pachino, in the hottest part of Scicily and contributes a rich, mulberry character. The second is high in the Madonie mountains east of Palermo and gives elegant notes of red cherry and currant. And the wine is made by Michael Palij of Winematters of Oxford, a Master of Wine who runs wine appreciation and education courses.
The cost of this was £5.00 from Underwoods in Warwick or £7.75 from Oxford wine.
I scored this wine 82.