2012 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.

Like many of the other large Sicilian estates, Tasca d’Almerita now makes wine in various corners of the Island, from Etna to Salina to Marsala. More importantly, Tasca d’Almerita is a rare estate where quantity and quality seem to go hand in hand. At almost 400 hectares and with an annual production of close to 3.5 million bottles, Tasca is undoubtedly a large wine producer, but many of its wines are of superlative quality and rank among the best of Sicily. The Rosso del Conte is an iconic Sicilian red wine and one of Italy’s great reds; the 2012 released this year, though not one of the most structured or complex ever made, is extremely successful, an outstanding red wine of uncanny balance and refinement. This year’s releases of Leone d’Almerita and Perricone are also very noteworthy.