An unlikely triumph for the summer
A fabulous summer red to titillate your taste buds, says Matthew Jukes.
2011 Perricone, Caruso e Minini, Sicily, Italy (£7.99, Marks & Spencer).
The rare perricone grape is only found in Sicily and it is usually blended with the more famous nero d'avola variety. I have never knowingly drunk a 100% version, so it was a complete surprise to come across this wine at a recent M&S event. The nose, palate and finish are all spot on. The price is a steal. I sprinted through the 100 or so wines at this tasting and then felt compelled to go back to only this wine for another look. I couldn't get it out of my head, nor my taste-memory, which is the reason why we all crave certain special flavours. It had a hold on me and on second taste the black cherry, juicy, shiny liquorice and fresh blackberry notes were even more sensational.
There is a refreshing crunch of acidity on the finish and there is thankfully no oak getting in the way. It is a model red wine with a profile unlike any other. It is fruit-forward, so it will chill well, too. I think that I have found you the most unlikely (and rarest) great-value summer red of the year. You should nip out and grab a bottle. It will be sure to fascinate you and perhaps it will titillate your taste buds as it has done mine.
MoneyWeek
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Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year (www.matthewjukes.com).
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Matthew Jukes has been the MoneyWeek wine correspondent since 2006.
He has worked in the UK wine business for well over three decades and during this time has written 14 wine books. His four highly-acclaimed, annual wine reports – the Burgundy En Primeur Report, the Bordeaux En Primeur Report, the Piemonte Report and the 100 Best Australian Wines – are published on his website.
Matthew is a winner of the International Wine and Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year Trophy. His thoughts, recommendations and tastings notes are followed very closely by the wine world at large.
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