I've worked pretty extensively with the Occhipinti wines, Sir.
The Frappato 2007 is very pretty, linear and defined. A villages Beaune from a cooler year would come to mind. In the context of a few other Frappatos I know (Fia' Nobile, COS, Valle dell'Acate), I would say that Occhipinti is producing a wine with the most mineral underlay and greatest nuance. The Il Frappato is a revelation, or should be, to anyone who thinks that Frappato as a grape equates only with strawberry juice. Of course, the Occhipinti bottling is more expensive than those Frappato offered by others. When first released I found the 2007 to be very tightly wound, but I think it is showing considerable charm now. Certainly it is a favorite of my staff.
If you have the opportunity to purchase some Occhipinti Nero d'Avola 2006, I would certainly not pass that chance up. It is no longer available at wholesale in New York. I don't know of another wine that will quite show you how perfumed Nero d'Avola can be on the palate, inside of the wine, itself as you drink it. I really like where the 2006 is right now. Perhaps the highlight of its entire bottle evolution arc thus far. I also appreciate how flavorful it is without resorting to coarse tannins. I sell it quite frequently. Where the Frappato or SP 68 might be considered summer or spring wines, I like the Nero d'Avola in the fall.
I don't love the SP 68 as much as others do. Frankly, I don't find it "loveable" at all. It was advertised as a fun, easy, inexpensive tipple, but I find drinking it about as fun and easy as a casual chat with Ludwig Wittgenstein. What pleasures there are to be had are purely intellectual. Maybe drinking it is how smart people party down. I wouldn't know, as I am a bit of a dullard myself. The SP 68 sells now and again. Sometimes it is sent back by someone who finds the acidity a bit much. I would like to see this vintage with a couple years of bottle age on it, but that is just sheer intellectual curiosity.
In sum, Occhipinti is working at a level that is quite high in the context of Sicilian still wine. If you find yourself amongst company drinking COS, de Bartoli, Benanti, Occhipinti, I Vigneri di Salvo Foti, some of Gulfi, some Cornelissen, some Ceuso, some Palari, some Passopisciaro, or some Terre Nere, then you are doing quite well for yourself.
