Wine Region: Sicily

(2026) A blend of 80% Inzolia and 20% Zibibbo, the organic grapes are vinified separately. Fermented on skins, the Inzolia is macerated for two to three weeks, the Zibibbo for six weeks. The result is a definitely orange wine where the Zibibbo (muscat) marks the aromatics, but so to does a distinct Mandarin orange on both nose and palate - not just autosuggestion from the colour, but a tangy citrus peel flavour that is bright and zippy, with an intense peppermint-leaf, herby tang and good acid. It's a lovely wine, cleanly made, and not too 'out there' in terms of its natural wine characteristics. Watch the video for more information.

(2026) Big, ripe cherry-scented red with copious red cherry fruit and spice. Classic apassimento aromas of dried fruit and a touch of vanilla. Succulent fruit on the palate but with a raisined intensity, bright and juicy, long and fresh in the finish with refined tannins and sweetness balanced by crisp acidity.

(2026) 100% Nero d'Avola from organic certified vineyards, this is a DOC Sicilia wine from limestone soils and made in stainless steel. Fragrant, lifted and buoyant with cherry and violet scents, this is an immediately gentle and appealing style. In the mouth there is abundant sweetness of fruit, real juiciness with crunchy acidity driving the finish more than tannin. Summer pudding flavours run nicely through the mid-palate to a dry finish. Price and stockist at time of review are for the previous vintage.

(2026) A Terre Siciliane IGT wine that is 100% Petit Verdot from limestone and sandy soils, made in stainless steel. A very attractive nose - suggestions of sweet summer berries, spices and a definite floral lift - move on to a smooth and moreish palate, the creamy sweetness of fruit flowing across the tongue. Tannins are gentle and fine, and the acid gives some bite with plum skin and cherry pit. An unusual and attractive wine - easy drinking with a lot of sweetness, but of quality too.

(2026) Another wine designated terre Siciliane IGT, 100% organic certified Fiano grown on sandy silt soils 150-350 mt above sea level. It is made in stainless steel. Stone fruits and lime are the initial impression, a moderately aromatic wine with a certain reserve but a hint of richness. Very juicy on the palate, with loads of zesty orange to the flavour, softened by peach, and the acidity of the finish showing plenty of saline character. Weighty enough, but fresh, it's a very nice example of how well Campania's Fiano can translate to Sicilian soils.

(2026) From the Menfi DOC, Mandrarossa describe this wine poetically as "produced from the sea breezes," coming from clay and limestone soils stretched along south and south-west facing hills. Do not come here looking for Kiwi-style Sauvignon fireworks. Instead the nose has a mineral and citrus intensity, just hints of a more exotic kumquat and fragrant peach in the background. The palate is crystal-clear, and there is restraint again, with a light body and fresh, clean fruit character, not a lot of weight here, but that sea breeze, ozoney freshness is apparent. Price and stockist quoted at time of review are for a previous vintage.

(2026) A wine from DOC Menfi that is a 50/50 blend of Nero d'Avola and Cabernet Franc, aged in oak barriques for six months. It comes from silty soils 90-150 metres above sea level. There's more intensity to this than the DOC Sicilia Nero d'Avola for sure, deeper, smokier with more of an earthy spice character - though still plenty of fruit. Much drier and the tannins really grip on this one, the fruit through the mid palate edged with liquorice and dried Asian plum, good acid in the finish.

(2026) The flagship and much awarded Nero d'Avola of Mandarossa, a Sicilia DOC wine from limestone and sandy soils, matured for 12 months in oak barriques. The colour is deep, but the aromas even deeper in a wine that has concentrated blueberry and dark, spicy plum, hints of espresso and dark chocolate gently underpin. In the mouth that concentration is evident, spices again, like clove and nutmeg, but a dark, bittersweet juiciness, plum skins and blackcurrant, but a significant tannin and acid axis says this needs some protein to ease the finish, or maybe a little more time in bottle.

(2025) This is 100% Frappato from the Scoglitto vineyard in Ragusa, southeast Sicily. The vineyard sits at between 600 and 1,000 metres altitude on sandy soils with limestone. The wine is made in stainless steel, with eight months ageing in tank, but no oak. Medium garnet in colour, this needs a bit of air and swirling to open up once the DIAM5 cork is drawn, when slightly reductive, gamy notes persist, but soften to reveal the pulpy red fruits beneath. In the mouth ripe red fruits are spicy and bright, the tannins dry but fine, and the cherry-pit acidity gives very good freshness and clarity.

(2025) What a lovely, juicy and fragrant wine. The nose offers a basket full of ripe cherries, spring flowers and red liquorice, buoyant and swirling in the glass. On the palate spices join those juicy red fruits, a background of gravelly tannin and pert acidity. Most enjoyable and well priced for a wine of this style and quality. Other stockists have it for around £12 per bottle. Watch the video for more information.