It was almost a year ago that we offered the 2015 vintage of this wine, marking our first encounter with an indigenous Italian grape called Corinto Nero—which, in classic Italian fashion, is only grown in a single province of Sicily. Italy is a paradise for wine geeks thanks to its unparalleled viticultural diversity, and, while I’m all for obscurity and exploration, that alone isn’t enough for me to buy a wine.
If it isn’t good, all the romance in the world isn’t going to sway me, but man, this (good) wine does come with a lot of romance: It’s a lush, aromatic, seductively spicy red from one of Sicily’s Aeolian satellite islands. Corinto Nero, once nearly extinct, was most likely brought there by the ancient Greeks and is possibly related to Sangiovese. If you love Mediterranean reds, as I do—reds that radiate warmth, light, and herbaceous wildness—don’t miss the 2016 edition of “Nero du Munti” from Nino Caravaglio. He is very much a winemaker of the moment, having become a critical darling despite his remote island post. There’s so much old-vine character for the money here it doesn’t seem fair; you really must try it!
Salina is part of the archipelago of seven volcanic islands (others include Lipari and Stromboli) off Sicily’s northeast coast. Steep-sloped and sparsely populated, with seaside villages sitting at the base of giant, vine-draped craters, this is where you go for the best seafood of your life; caper berries the size of walnuts; and grapes from vines never blighted by phylloxera. The most famous Aeolian wines are the sweet, dried-grape nectars from the aromatic Malvasia grape, which are labeled Malvasia delle Lipari DOC regardless of which island the grapes come from. Delicious, saline dry whites are also made from Malvasia (we offered Caravaglio’s fantastic “Infatata” Malvasia a little over a month ago), along with reds from a trove of different grapes—not surprising given how many conquerors/colonizers Sicily has seen over the centuries.
Although Nino Caravaglio founded his cantina in 1992, his family has cultivated vines and other crops on the island since the 16th century. His vineyards have been certified organic almost since the winery’s creation, with 37 acres on Salina and, on neighboring Lipari, his 5-acre vineyard of Corinto Nero, where some vines are 150 years old. The site sits in the crater of an extinct volcano, overlooking the Mediterranean at an altitude of about 300 meters. The island’s arid climate and cleansing breezes make Caravaglio’s commitment to natural farming that much easier; mold and disease resistance are not big issues here, and the exceedingly good health and cleanliness of the fruit enables Caravaglio to keep added sulfur to the barest minimum.
Ian D’Agata’s exhaustive Native Wine Grapes of Italy (University of California Press) has a short-but-interesting entry on Corinto Nero. It is thought to be a distant relative of Tuscany’s Sangiovese, although it has mutated over the years to be seedless. Likely planted on Salina by the ancient Greeks, it is known for very sparse production and is grown only in the Sicilian province of Messina.
From these ancient vines, rooted in mineral-rich volcanic ash, Caravaglio crafts Nero du Munti as a ‘varietal’ red—one of the few examples of such a wine in existence. Etna Rosso fans will find it to be a little deeper in both color and flavor, with a more dark-fruited personality in comparison to Etna’s Nerello Mascalese-based reds. In the glass, it is a deep ruby-red extending all the to the rim, with a resolutely ‘Mediterranean’ aromatic profile that summons memories of some southern French reds: black raspberry, red and black currant, damp violets and lavender, dried herbs, baking spices, a hint of leather…there’s definitely that
garrigue—or as they say in Italy,
mácchia—influence in evidence. The texture is voluptuous but lifted by refreshing acidity and underpinned by a smoky, volcanic minerality. It’s a delicious wine to open and enjoy now: Give it about 30 minutes in a decanter and serve it around 60-65 degrees in Bordeaux stems. Check it out with a hearty beef
braciole and trust me when I say the actual wine is as good as its story. I wouldn’t have it any other way!
