Wines

Description coming soon.

Produced exclusively from Catarratto grapes grown on the Il Censo estate outside of Palazzo Adriano; vineyards are farmed organically and grapes are harvested manually, with harvest occurring usually in October; the grapes maintain contact with the skins for two to three weeks, the length of the maceration depending on the vintage; only indigenous yeasts are used during fermentation and no temperature controls are utilized; the wines is bottled with being fined or filtered. The wine characteristically has a rich, golden tint with a strong minerality and a pleasant bitterness and an almost saline quality.

Produced exclusively from the Perricone grape, also known in local dialect as “njuro cane” (the black dog); vineyards are farmed organically and grapes are harvested manually, with harvest usually taking place in October; fermentation occurs over two to three weeks with indigenous yeasts and minimal or no use of sulfur and without temperature control; the wine is neither fined nor filtered before bottling. This is a gutsy but elegant wine, not ferocious by any means, with gentle tannins and a slight fade to its red color.

Produced from Nero d’Avola grown at 650 meters altitude and aged in the non-interventionist style of Gaetano’s mentor, Giampiero Bea: no added yeasts, no temperature stabilization, no fining or filtering, and a minimum of added sulfur dioxide (total sulfur is 65 mg/L). Deep in color, exuberant in personality, and an exceptional value as well. Fruits lean toward black cherry and blackberry, with notes of licorice and dark chocolate. It’s a proud sun-drenched southerner, ample and gregarious, but with tons of high-toned spice to balance, as well as a well-mannered flirtation with volatility that remains firmly on the correct side of the fence.

The “700” refers to the meters of altitude at which the Nero d’Avola at Il Censo is planted. This wine offers a beguiling combination of plushness and tension, with fruits in the dark-red part of the spectrum, and plenty of driving energy. Nero d’Avola can often be one-note even when it is perfectly delicious, but not here, as this shows the true potential of Il Censo’s terroir for producing great red wine.