NeroSanloré - 2011
Gulfi
- Region
- Italy » Sicilia » Sicilia DOC
- Type
- red still, dry
- Producer
- Gulfi
- Vintage
- 2011
- Grapes
- Nero d'Avola
- Alcohol
- 14.5
- Sugar
- 3.5
- Volume
- 750 mL
- Cellar
- not available
Located a mere 10 meters above sea level, the San Lorenzo vineyard benefits from the temperate-warm Mediterranean climate. The sandy-red soils, characteristic of the region, further enhance the terroir, offering an ideal base for the vines. The vineyard's mainstay is the illustrious Nero d'Avola grape, accounting for 100% of its cultivation. With a planting density of 8,000 vines per hectare, Vigna San Lorenzo boasts a yield of 40 quintals per hectare.
The winemaking process commences post mid-September. The grapes undergo extended maceration with their skins, ensuring a deep extraction of flavors and aromas. Once the malolactic fermentation is complete, the resulting wine is transferred to 500-liter barrels, where it matures gracefully over the next two years. But its evolution is not yet complete—a subsequent year of bottle aging refines the wine further, allowing the Nero d'Avola's intricate nuances to come to the fore, and presenting a wine that truly encapsulates the spirit of Val di Noto.
Ratings
4.0·@Garage · Gulfi: enduring romance
A leaky cork, the culprit of a tale tinged with the sadness of what could have been.
The bouquet is wrapped in dusty robes decorated with old cherry confiture, tobacco, and well-worn leather boots. It's lost the youthful sparkle, yet a pulse of freshness beats on thanks to the sturdy acidity. Despite being a tad weary, it holds a story that's still compelling.
Yet, the melancholy of its premature aging sits heavy. Oh, the bitter taste of potential lost, masked only slightly by the still pleasant sips. Heh.
Gulfi
The fact that my relations with Sicilian wines are special might be something obvious. But not many people know that it all started with Gulfi stand at the very first Kyiv Wine festival. When we met, I was already tired (e.g. drunk). I almost passed by, disgusted by my own weakness, when a Gulfi representative (apologies, I don't remember her name) stopped me and offered a glass of their wine. I looked at the representative welcoming face. I looked at the naked ass on the label. And I realised there are no reasons to reject this present from Dionysus. And even though I don't remember which wines I tasted exactly, the Gulfi imprint is what I took out of that overly drunk day.
It is worth mentioning that the naked ass on the label has a meaning. A meaning close enough to what one might think. Meet an ancient mosaic from Villa Romana del Casale located in Piazza Armerina in the province of Enna. This mosaic depicts Eros (Cupid) and Psyche (Beauty). According to the story, out of envy of Venus, they are forced to love each other in secret. But passion rarely goes unnoticed, and in their case, it found a physical manifestation (no puns) in the form of a daughter (no puns, seriously) they called Vulptas (literally meaning 'pleasure'), a goddess of sensual pleasures. And how does it connect to Gulfi? Sicily is Psyche, Gulfi is Eros, and their child is wine, a sensual pleasure.