2021 Planeta Santa Cecilia Noto

"The Planeta 2021 Sicilia Noto Santa Cecilia (now a certified organic wine) is 100% Nero d'Avola that is aged in French oak for 14 months. Some 15% is new oak and the remaining percentages are equal parts second-year, third-year and fourth-year barrel. This wine achieves beautiful balance with bright fruit tones of dark cherry and blackcurrant over a medium but silky finish. Those easy primary notes cede to soft spice, toasted almond and grilled aniseed. Fruit comes from low-elevation vineyards (at 35 to 40 meters just above the wave line) with limestone marl and lots of light-colored stones. This is a release of 27,500 bottles." Drink 2024 - 2032

"The 2021 Santa Cecilia opens with a mentholated freshness, dusty and oral, with a whi of dried violets, black raspberries and sage. It washes across the palate, silky and serene, with cool-toned red and black fruits motivated by hints of sour citrus. A bump of zesty acidity keeps the mouth watering as the 2021 tapers o with a tinge of edgy tannins and a pleasantly bitter crunch." Drink 2024 - 2030

"The nose starts bubbly and sweet, with aromas of black plums, cherry and vanilla, then turns savory but still crackly, with notes of pencil shavings, pepper, graphite and leather. The palate doubles back toward juicy fruit with figs and more plums, then shifts again toward that sanguine earthiness, but textured tannins and almost silky acid unify the whole."