Feudo Di Santa Tresa Nivuro 2004

*Bottle #40: Feudo Di Santa Tresa Vendemmia 2004 Sicilia, IGT

*Price: $13

*Running Tab: $501

With the holidays approaching, people are returning to old comforts. Be it nostalgia from potpourri, Grandma's pumpkin pie-spiced eggnog or uberfattening and delicious bacon-grease coated stuffing, everyone has their own end-of-the-year-our-economy-sucks-I'm-so-broke stomach settlers. 

Mine just happens to be Italian wine. I know, I know, you've heard me say it 100 times and this time is no different. I'm a sucker, I always will be. I loved that wine for every juicy, anti-acidic, miniscule tannic ounce there was. And I drank it all.

This time it was Feudo Di Santa Tresa Nivuro 2004 from Sicily. So I guess this time I can constitute a difference as I know both the mainlanders and islanders would agree - this wine is Sicilian! Not Italian! Ha!

The Italian designation by the IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) approves the use of foreign grape varietals in Italian wine and the Nivuro is no different under its regulations. This $13 bottle is 70% Nero d'Avola (Italia - Sicily) and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon (French - Bordeaux). Assuming by now we all are familiar with the latter, let's talk about Nero wha?

Nero d'Avola is said to be "the most important red wine grape in Sicily." This country is silly because there can be one grape with over 20 different synonymous names. Italians/dedicated sommeliers might also know this grape by the names of Calabrese D'Avola/De Calabria/Di Noto/Dolce/Pittatello/Pizzuto, Calabriai Fekete, Raisin De Calabre Noir and Struguri De Calabria. 

What's in a name - Nero d'Avola wines are comparable to Australian Shiraz full of plum, spice and sweeter, fine-grained tannins. 

Beyond the facts, I obviously have my opinion. That's what you're here for, right?

Deep purple (not the classic rock band) and rich in color, the nose on this Sicilian was not what I was expecting in an Italian-style wine. Very well-integrated and slightly tight aromas to begin with, the Nivuro had a handful of spices (dried thyme - like the kind in the jar in your kitchen cabinet), vanilla (like the real stuff, not extract or flavored-Coke) and oak (like barrels). 

As far as fruit goes on the bouquet of this wine, it wasn't too forward and put off the scent of simply grapes, which later developed into dried fruit... Raisins! Despite the obvious, the most unique characteristic was tar. That and the combination of oak gave off a beach wood/beach tar aroma/nostalgia. Definite childhood moments of playing on the beach now enhanced by the sweet minerality of Italian vino.

After such a defining nose, the flavor wasn't exactly standing beside it. It tasted Italian - big and juicy fruit tang with those lose tannins. The wine attacks sweet and continues so onto the mid-palate and finishes a tad astringent, leaving your mouth salivating consistently and immediately. It was odd, I haven't quite had a wine notably do that to me before but it wasn't necessarily a good nor bad thing.

For a $13 imported IGT bottle of wine that just got better once oxygen hit, this is a great bang for your buck. I was going to say something dirty about Italian men like I usually do but I'll just leave it at that for now...

Score: 7.