2001 Rosso del Conte

For the longest time, Sicily’s Tasca d’Almerita’s Rosso del Conte was (along with Mastroberardino’s Taurasi) southern Italy’s greatest and most famous red wine. Besides showcasing the merits of the island’s Nero d’Avola grape, Rosso del Conte proved that Italy’s south could also produce world class, age-worthy reds. Rosso del Conte was also the first single vineyard wine ever produced in Sicily.

The wines in this tasting were sourced directly from the estate and tasted in September 2016. They were tasted from oldest to youngest in the company of Alberto Tasca d’Almerita, who prefers to taste them in this manner. Readers might also like to refer to the a similar vertical reported on by Antonio Galloni seven years ago; I thought it would be fascinating to check up on this wine after all this time and see how it has been evolving, plus add in a few new, significant, vintages given all the changes that have taken place, for comparison’s sake.

Tasca d'Almerita is one of the leading estates in Sicily and Italy. Tasca's top red, Rosso del Conte, is among the handful of wines from Southern Italy with a long, distinguished track record that goes back several decades. This tasting with proprietor Alberto Tasca provided an incredible opportunity to re-visit a number of older, and now exceedingly rare, vintages. It also proved the significant potential of both Nero d'Avola and Sicilian wines in general. I can only hope one day there will be many more properties making wines of such distinction and age-worthiness. In particular, readers lucky enough to own any of the older Rosso del Contes should be thrilled! For most of its life Rosso del Conte was predominantly Nero d'Avola, one of Sicily's most important indigenous red grapes (the other being Nerello Mascalese) with a touch of Perricone, another native red variety. In 2003 the estate began adding a small percentage of their best barrels of international grapes to the blend in an attempt to give the wine more shades of complexity. The use of international varieties peaked at about 30% in 2006. During these years Tasca d'Almerita also conducted extensive work to gain a better understanding of the qualities of the various clones of Nero d'Avola. With the 2007, the estate has scaled back the use of international varieties to roughly 10%, while Nero d'Avola and Perricone once again make up the majority of the blend at approximately 75% and 15% respectively. Rosso del Conte is made from a number of different vineyards, but the core of the wine comes from San Lucio, which was planted in 1959 with Nero d'Avola and Perricone. Some of the estate's other vineyards include Piana Margio (planted in 2000), Cordicella (planted in 1976), Ciminnita (planted in 1974), Case Vecchie (planted in 1974 and 1976) and S. Anna (planted in 1976). All of the vineyards sit at roughly 470 meters above sea level with south to southeast exposures. The relatively high altitude of the vineyards is a major reason Rosso del Conte retains excellent acidity and freshness, even in the hottest years. The exact vineyard blend depends on each vintage, and it is not a foregone conclusion that all of the parcels will be used every year. For example, the 2003 Rosso del Conte was made only from San Lucio. In most years, the harvest takes place around the middle of October. Early vintages of Rosso del Conte were aged in chestnut barrels. I am too young to have tasted the wines when they were first released, but by all accounts the wines were extremely hard and difficult to appreciate. What a difference a few decades makes! In the early 1990s the estate transitioned to a combination of 30 and 60-hectoliter Slavonian oak casks and smaller French oak barrels. By the mid 1990s the conversion to 100% French oak was complete. Throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s the percentage of new oak increased from 50% in 1994 to 100% for vintages 2004 through 2006. Similarly, fermentations evolved from lengthy periods of contact on the skins in cement with no temperature control to shorter fermentations in stainless steel with temperature control.

Tasca d'Almerita is one of the leading estates in Sicily and Italy. The estate's top red, Rosso del Conte, is among the handful of wines from Southern Italy with a long, distinguished track record that goes back several decades. This tasting with proprietor Alberto Tasca provided an incredible opportunity to re-visit a number of older, and now exceedingly rare, vintages. It also proved the significant potential of both Nero d'Avola and Sicilian wines in general. I can only hope one day there will be many more properties making wines of such distinction and age-worthiness. In particular, readers lucky enough to own any of the older Rosso del Contes should be thrilled! For most of its life Rosso del Conte was predominantly Nero d'Avola, one of Sicily's most important indigenous red grapes (the other being Nerello Mascalese) with a touch of Perricone, another native red variety. In 2003 the estate began adding a small percentage of their best barrels of international grapes to the blend in an attempt to give the wine more shades of complexity. The use of international varieties peaked at about 30% in 2006. During these years Tasca d'Almerita also conducted extensive work to gain a better understanding of the qualities of the various clones of Nero d'Avola. With the 2007, the estate has scaled back the use of international varieties to roughly 10%, while Nero d'Avola and Perricone once again make up the majority of the blend at approximately 75% and 15% respectively. Rosso del Conte is made from a number of different vineyards, but the core of the wine comes from San Lucio, which was planted in 1959 with Nero d'Avola and Perricone. Some of the estate's other vineyards include Piana Margio (planted in 2000), Cordicella (planted in 1976), Ciminnita (planted in 1974), Case Vecchie (planted in 1974 and 1976) and S. Anna (planted in 1976). All of the vineyards sit at roughly 470 meters above sea level with south to southeast exposures. The relatively high altitude of the vineyards is a major reason Rosso del Conte retains excellent acidity and freshness, even in the hottest years. The exact vineyard blend depends on each vintage, and it is not a foregone conclusion that all of the parcels will be used every year. For example, the 2003 Rosso del Conte was made only from San Lucio. In most years, the harvest takes place around the middle of October. Early vintages of Rosso del Conte were aged in chestnut barrels. I am too young to have tasted the wines when they were first released, but by all accounts the wines were extremely hard and difficult to appreciate. What a difference a few decades makes! In the early 1990s the estate transitioned to a combination of 30-hectoliter and 60-hectoliter Slavonian oak casks, and smaller French oak barrels. By the mid 1990s the conversion to100% French oak was complete. Throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s the percentage of new oak increased from 50% in 1994 to 100% for vintages 2004 through 2006. Similarly, fermentations evolved from lengthy periods of contact on the skins in cement with no temperature control to shorter fermentations in stainless steel with temperature control. At their best, today's wines show exceptional elegance and plenty of Sicilian character.

This estate offers o ne of the most impressive line-ups of Sicilian wine. Once you get past the famous Rosso del Conte, it's often hard to pick a favorite. Also tasted: 2002 Cygnus, 2003 Regaleali Rosso, 2002 Nozze d'Oro Contea di Sclafani.