Cortese Nostru Nerello Mascalese

Rediscovering precious grape varieties from Sicily’s rich past. With a big personality and distinctive fruit this is a memorable red.

The Cortese story is fascinating.  A sprawling vineyard in the Ragusa region of Southern Sicily, it was previously owned by the locally infamous matriarch Giovanna Cortese.  As Signora Cotrese reached an age where she was no longer able to manage the land anymore, she decided to sell to Italian wine legend Stefano Girelli in 2016 who immediately set about transforming it. While modernising in some ways, he decided to keep all the very old vines of unusual varietals and even began to use ancient wine-making techniques such as fermentation in terracotta.  the result is a unique and interesting range of artisanal wines that are truly representative of the Terre Siciliane.

This medium-bodied wine is a cherry festival in a glass, with crunchy red fruit, soft silky tannins, a sophisticated spicy character and a remarkable mineral core.