All in the Family

scottreiner

scottreiner

scott reiner
The other day at the 10 Bells with friends I drank many wines. (You may read that sentence again) They were all fun, and some were more popular than others. But, two stuck out as not only peoples favorites, but also the most interesting. COS Cerasualo 2005 from Giusto Occhipinti and Occhipinti Frappato 2007 from Arianna Occhipinti, his niece.

There are many similarities between the wines. The wine makers are related. Both wines are made in and from grapes grown on Mount Etna in Sicily. Both wines contain the local grape Frappato (100% in the case of Arianas wine, @ 40% in the COS, the remainder being Nero Davola). Both wines were drunk out of magnum! But, in the tasting, there were many similarities as well. Both wines appear to have the same soul. They both have a lightly dusty feel to them. Both wines betray their complexity by appearing to have no weight. Its all in the balance after all. They both have good acidity, but it never shows. Its hidden, always doing the work it has to, but never needing to take any credit. Both wines make you happy and want to drink more!

As to differences, there are some. But, they only make you want to drink these wines together all the more! The Occhipinti is prettier and more feminine, with more fresh, refreshing, beguiling fruit. The COS is more manly, showing more musk and tannin. Like all manly things, it is a tad more insecure. Preferring not to play alone, it desires some food to accompany it
 
originally posted by scottreiner:
[...] make you happy and want to drink more!
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I haven't had the '05 COS, but this statement is most definitely true for the '07. The '06 was quite good, but I thought the '07 was just that much better. It's a joyous wine that begs to be shared amongst friends. Hopefully sometime soon I'll get a chance to try some of Ariana's wines.

Thanks for the notes Scott.
 
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
originally posted by lars makie:
Hopefully sometime soon I'll get a chance to try some of Ariana's wines.
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Gasp, you mean you haven't? Hipster credentials revoked.
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Shit! That's ok, I've come to terms with no longer being a hipster; I can't fit into those stove-pipe pants anyway.

Unfortunately the LDM Italian portfolio is nearly non-existent in Chicago (any luck on that front Kevin?). My guess is from Joe's tweets lately that Cream won't be bringing them in.
 
originally posted by scottreiner:
All in the FamilyThe other day at the 10 Bells with friends I drank many wines. (You may read that sentence again) They were all fun, and some were more popular than others. But, two stuck out as not only people’s favorites, but also the most interesting. COS Cerasualo 2005 from Giusto Occhipinti and Occhipinti Frappato 2007 from Arianna Occhipinti, his niece.

There are many similarities between the wines. The wine makers are related. Both wines are made in and from grapes grown on Mount Etna in Sicily. Both wines contain the local grape Frappato (100% in the case of Ariana’s wine, @ 40% in the COS, the remainder being Nero D’avola). Both wines were drunk out of magnum! But, in the tasting, there were many similarities as well. Both wines appear to have the same soul. They both have a lightly dusty feel to them. Both wines betray their complexity by appearing to have no weight. It’s all in the balance after all. They both have good acidity, but it never shows. It’s hidden, always doing the work it has to, but never needing to take any credit. Both wines make you happy and want to drink more!

As to differences, there are some. But, they only make you want to drink these wines together all the more! The Occhipinti is prettier and more feminine, with more fresh, refreshing, beguiling fruit. The COS is more manly, showing more musk and tannin. Like all manly things, it is a tad more insecure. Preferring not to play alone, it desires some food to accompany it
Click to expand...

I just stumbled across this dusty old post, and recalled Arianna talking fondly of her uncle in her interview with Levi. Worth a listen.
 
Neither winery is from Etna, just for clarity. They're from Vittoria, much further south, sandy soil, low altitude as opposed to volcanic soil and high altitude.
 
Just had the 2008 Cos Cerasuolo at Restaurante Silvio in Bellagio on Lake Como last month. We really enjoyed it and my wife and friends requested a second bottle of the same. I have not had the pleasure of trying a Cos wine, but it jumped out at me on their list. I am a big fan of Arianna's wines, especially the higher end bottling of frappato.
 
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