Two stellar wines today for you. The first is Cantine Nicosia Grillo Sicilia DOC 2018, an organic and vegan wine made in Italy from the white Grillo grape. The second wine is the Luis Segundo Correas Valle Las Acequias Malbec Oak 2015 from Argentina; a very smooth and satisfying big red wine for these cold Winter days. I’m sure most of you reading this article have heard of Malbec and have tried a Malbec from Argentina, but what about Grillo? Grillo is not very well-known in BC or probably Canada.
Grillo is a crossing of Catarratto and Moscato di Alessandria (Zibibbo) grapes. According to Wikipedia, “Grillo, also known as Riddu and Rossese bianco, is a white Italian wine grape variety that withstands high temperatures and is widely used in Sicilian winemaking and, in particular, for making Marsala.” This wine can be made full-bodied or light and crisp. The wine I’m tasting from Nicosia fits in the first category and I can see it being able to age well for a few years in bottle.
Let me tell you about these two wines.
My Tasting Notes
Cantine Nicosia Grillo Sicilia DOC 2018, Italy (BC $19.99) – This wine has a very intense deep, bright lemon colour in the glass. Medium intensity developing aromas with deep tropical fruit, dried lemons, pineapple, and a touch of honey, oak and lanolin. You get the same intense nose with decanting. This wine is dry, semi-round with a thicker mouth feel and an acidic prickle/edge. Medium plus intensity flavours of pineapple and pears, some oak, and then pepperiness from the mid palate and finish. Lots of body and texture to this wine. Decanting may lighten the mouthfeel and the pepperiness to this big wine. It has a medium plus length finishing with ripe pineapple, pears, oak and pepperiness. With decanting you can add tea leaves flavours to the finish. I did try this wine with Brie and Monterey Jack cheeses and it went quite well together.
Rating: 
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Deep ripe tropical fruits on the nose and palate. Big, semi-round with an acidic edge. Ripe pineapple and pear flavours with a touch of oak and pepperiness on the finish. Lots of body and texture!
Luis Segundo Correas Valle Las Acequias Malbec Oak 2015, Argentina (BC $23.99) – Quite a deep garnet colour with a ruby tint. It is about 70% opaque in the glass. It has a medium intensity nose with a mix of red and black fruits, ripe cherries and sweet spices. With a bit of swirling you also get raspberries and light oak aromas. The raspberry aroma gets stronger with decanting, plus you get some raspberry syrup. This wine is dry, smooth and round with very fine light intensity tannins. Bigger mouth feel and flavours. You get red and black fruit, raspberries, and pepper with floral, oak and vanilla in the mid palate. I also picked up a touch of nutmeg and liquorice flavours as well. With decanting the wine tastes a bit off-dry, more red fruit than black fruit, and a hint of minerality on the mid palate. It has a medium plus length finishing with sweet ripe black cherries, black pepper, floral, and fine light tannins; not drying. A delightful wine to enjoy with aged cheeses by the fireplace.
Rating: – Medium intensity red and black fruits and sweet spices on the nose. Smooth and round with a mix of red and black fruit flavours upfront then a blend of raspberries, vanilla, pepper and floral to finish. A delightful wine to enjoy with aged cheeses.
Where Can I Buy These Wines?
The Cantine Nicosia Grillo Sicilia DOC 2018 is available through BC Liquor Stores. The Luis Segundo Correas Valle Las Acequias Malbec Oak 2015 is available through private wine shops like Everything Wine.
