2016 Cusumano Noa DOC, Sicily

I love the herbal complexity on the nose here with dried bay leaf, Thai basil, blueberries and licorice. Rich and nicely round on the palate, but with a delicate streak of acidity and a tangy finish.

91 points jamessuckling.com

2016 Cusumano Noà DOC is one of Sicily’s great modern reds, a wine that shows how Mediterranean warmth and mountain freshness can come together in something both powerful and refined. The vineyards lie in western Sicily on limestone and clay soils at altitude, where cooling night air from the surrounding hills preserves acidity and aromatic lift in the fruit. Cusumano is one of the island’s most respected family estates, known for blending Sicily’s ancient grape varieties with a contemporary, terroir focused approach, and Noà is their flagship expression of that philosophy, combining Nero d’Avola, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon into a uniquely Sicilian interpretation of a Bordeaux inspired blend.

The 2016 vintage pours a deep, inky crimson, opening with aromas of ripe black cherry, plum, cassis, cocoa, sweet spice and a subtle hint of dried herbs and warm earth. On the palate it is rich and layered yet beautifully balanced, delivering dark fruits, chocolate, espresso and savoury spice wrapped in silky tannins and lifted by a line of freshness that keeps it from ever feeling heavy. It is superb with grilled meats, slow cooked lamb, pasta with rich ragù and aged cheeses, and it has the structure to age gracefully for ten to fifteen years, gaining more tobacco, leather and Mediterranean herb complexity as it evolves.