“Terre del Sommacco” 2018 – Mandrarossa

The grapes to produce the “Terre del Sommacco” Mandrarossa were hand harvested during the first week of September. Once at the winery, the grapes were fermented in cement tulip tanks. Ageing took place in tulip tanks for the first eight months and then the wine is racked off into large French oak casks for 19 months.

This wine comes from two vineyards with a combined size of 1.5 hectares. The two sites are located in Contrada Miccina, in the comune of Contessa Entellina. The vines are 18 years old, and grow on south-west facing hills at 310 metres above sea level. Soils are calcareous, and it was for these chalky soils that the vineyard sites were selected after a long period of study on the area. Vines are Guyot trained and planted at a density of 4,000 plants per hectare.

The Mandrarossa wines come from a selection of the best sites from Cantine Settesoli’s 6,000 hectares of vineyard, situated in southwestern Sicily and planted with 32 different grape varieties. The vineyards are split between the 2,000 members of the co-op, and cover the area around Selinunte, the hauntingly beautiful ruins of a Greek town founded 2,600 years ago. Cantine Settesoli helps to support the restoration of this archaeological site. First produced in 1999, Mandrarossa is about to open its own winery as it becomes increasingly focused on single-site wines. Working with soil specialist Pedro Parra and head winemaker Mimmo De Gregorio, Alberto has selected 500 hectares of vineyard, from 160 growers, for the production of the Mandrarossa wines. These vineyards are situated close to the sea, where intense sunlight, moderating sea breezes, mild temperatures, multiple elevations and a myriad of different soil types combine to give the quality of grapes that Mimmo and Alberto are looking for. Pedro has singled out limestone as the soil with the highest potential for quality wines. At the top of the hierarchy are the wines made from single sites, 75 hectares from 37 growers that have been selected by Pedro’s vineyard mapping. Their ‘Cartagho’, from a sandy vineyard in the Torrenova ‘contrada’ that is regarded as the best source of Nero d’Avola, is the iconic Mandrarossa wine, having won ‘Tre Bicchieri’ six times in recent years. The Timperosse (made solely from Petit Verdot) has also won ‘Tre Bicchieri’.