2020 Planeta Sicilia Santa Cecilia Rosso, Sicily

Blackberry, floral and dark earth aromas with hints of fresh black mushroom. Medium to full body with round and creamy tannins and a delicious undertone. Just a hint of vanilla bean underneath the fruit. Nero d’avola. Drink or hold.

93 points jamessuckling.com

The nose starts bubbly and sweet, with aromas of black plums, cherry and vanilla, then turns savory but still crackly, with notes of pencil shavings, pepper, graphite and leather. The palate doubles back toward juicy fruit with figs and more plums, then shifts again toward that sanguine earthiness, but textured tannins and almost silky acid unify the whole. 

94 points Danielle Callegari wineenthusiast.com 

From the sun drenched south east of Sicily near Noto, this wine is Planeta’s flagship expression of Nero d’Avola, capturing the warmth, spice and Mediterranean depth of the island. The Santa Cecilia estate sits close to the sea, where cooling breezes temper the heat and help preserve balance in a naturally powerful grape. Planeta treats the site as a grand cru of Nero d’Avola, aiming to show both ripeness and refinement rather than rustic weight.

Winemaking is polished and modern, designed to shape the grape’s natural generosity into something structured and age worthy. Careful extraction builds fine tannin, while oak ageing adds spice and frame without overwhelming the fruit. The style is rich but controlled, combining Sicilian sun with international precision.

Deep ruby in colour, the aromas open with black cherry, plum and blueberry layered with liquorice, cocoa and dried herbs. There is a warm Mediterranean perfume that hints at wild fennel and spice. The palate is full bodied and velvety, with dark fruit wrapped in ripe tannins and balanced acidity. Flavours of blackberry, chocolate and savoury spice flow into a long, mouthcoating finish.

It pairs beautifully with grilled meats, slow cooked lamb, pasta with rich sauces and hard cheeses. Drinking impressively now, it will cellar comfortably for ten to fifteen years, developing earthy and balsamic complexity.

This is Nero d’Avola in a grand register, generous, structured and unmistakably Sicilian.