2011 Rosso del Conte

One of the historic names in Sicilian wine, having been involved in winemaking for 200 years, Tasca d'Almerita is also one of the island's largest producers, farming roughly 350 hectares and producing about 3 million bottles a year. Tasca owns five beautiful estates around the island (and on other islands too: witness the Tenuta Capofaro on the Lipari islands just off Sicily’s northeastern coast), with the operational center located at Regaleali, in the heart of Sicily (getting there makes for a beautiful drive but quite a trek).

After some great wines in the 1980s, the estate went through a difficult phase, turning out many red wines that were too tough and herbal in which local varieties seemed to take a backseat. That seems to have changed of late with some of the better Rosso del Conte wines made in years, as well as the introduction of the outstanding Mozia Grillo, Leone d’Almerita and Malvasia from the Lipari islands into Tasca's large portfolio of wines.