Zisola Noto Nero d'Avola 2016
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James
Suckling -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Well built, forest fruits and sunny orange peel flavors, long and layered taste
Pair with spicy fish soups, savoury pasta and rice dishes, grilled red meats and vegetables
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
On the nose, this offers a really pretty play between dried raspberries, hibiscus, lilacs and rose petals. The palate is very focused and driven with bright acidity, lots of floral undertones and a fine finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
Made entirely with Nero d'Avola, this opens with earthy aromas of Mediterranean scrub, cedar and ripe black-skinned berry. The savory concentrated palate offers black-cherry jam, tobacco, cinnamon and black pepper alongside fine-grained tannins.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Francesco and Filippo Mazzei's 2016 Sicilia Noto Zisola is a wine that leaves a large and very pleasurable imprint on the palate. There are Nero d'Avola aromas of red cherry, wild fennel, toasted pistachio and black olive. But you also get contemporary and softer aromas of black fruit, spice and tobacco. This mid-weight red has the volume and staying power to pair with spicy lamb dishes or sweet and sour pork. Zisola is a great red wine value from Sicily.
Other Vintages
2020-
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator
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James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker
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James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker
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Wine
Spectator
The Mazzei family, historic owners of Tuscany’s renowned Fonterutoli estate and one of Italy’s most highly regarded winemaking families, are proud to present Zisola, an elegant Sicilian red wine of great complexity, concentration and aging potential. Made from Sicily's indigenous Nero d’Avola grape, limited-production Zisola comes from the Mazzei family property in southeastern Sicily, just outside the magnificent town of Noto. Here, in this alluring spot rich in history and culture, the Mazzeis discovered unexpressed winemaking potential and have pioneered an ambitious project to bring that potential to light. In fact, the thumbprint that appears on the label is that of Francesco Mazzei who, together with his father Lapo and his brother Filippo, is dedicated to placing the Mazzei family’s mark of uncompromised quality on this exciting viticultural region.
Boldly opulent and robust, Nero d’Avola is Sicily’s most widely planted red grape. Nero d’Avola performs well both as a single varietal bottling and in blends. It loves hot, arid climates and Sicily's old vines are aptly head-trained close to the ground, making them resistant to strong winds. A few pioneering producers in California as well as Australia farm Nero d’Avola in the same way. Somm Secret—Nero d’Avola's other name, Calabrese, suggests origins from the mainland region of Calabria.
A large, geographically and climatically diverse island, just off the toe of Italy, Sicily has long been recognized for its fortified Marsala wines. But it is also a wonderful source of diverse, high quality red and white wines. Steadily increasing in popularity over the past few decades, Italy’s fourth largest wine-producing region is finally receiving the accolades it deserves and shining in today's global market.
Though most think of the climate here as simply hot and dry, variations on this sun-drenched island range from cool Mediterranean along the coastlines to more extreme in its inland zones. Of particular note are the various microclimates of Europe's largest volcano, Mount Etna, where vineyards grow on drastically steep hillsides and varying aspects to the Ionian Sea. The more noteworthy red and white Sicilian wines that come from the volcanic soils of Mount Etna include Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio (reds) and Carricante (whites). All share a racy streak of minerality and, at their best, bear resemblance to their respective red and white Burgundies.
Nero d’Avola is the most widely planted red variety, and is great either as single varietal bottling or in blends with other indigenous varieties or even with international ones. For example, Nero d'Avola is blended with the lighter and floral, Frappato grape, to create the elegant, Cerasuolo di Vittoria, one of the more traditional and respected Sicilian wines of the island.
Grillo and Inzolia, the grapes of Marsala, are also used to produce aromatic, crisp dry Sicilian white. Pantelleria, a subtropical island belonging to the province of Sicily, specializes in Moscato di Pantelleria, made from the variety locally known as Zibibbo.