Wine Review - 2013 Donnafugata Sherazade Nero D'Avola: A Smokey Italian Red With Punch

As we go through our roster of wines from the 2014 NSLC Port of Wines Festival we get to try wines that stood out on the day.  The Italian table was a bit of a hit and miss group of wines wrapped up with a lot of really nice but expensive Amarones and Barolos.  This Sicilian wine came in at the middle of our price point at $21.79 which is a little high for Nero d'Avola but this is a nice wine.  According to Wikipedia this grape is the most important grape for the island at the tip of the boot of Italy.

In the glass this wine is a lighter bodied red which is typical of this grape.  It is very purple in colour and in the glass you see it has a slight transparency for a darker red.  Again this is typical of the grape.

The nose is very smokey and has a strong leather sensation when you breathe deeply.  There is a very plummy undertone to things and it makes it an enticing smell.  Really quite nice.

Nero has Pinot Noir tendencies and this wine lives up to that and is quite thin on the palate.  It is also very dry and very tannic which really hits us in the mouth in the right way.  The tannins also turn what would normally be plum notes into plum skin notes.  The pucker is full on with this wine and it is quite tasty with not so much balance but mouth watering flavours.

	Tasting Notes:	Score:
Sight (0-5)	Lighter bodied and transparent for a darker red wine.	4.0
Smell (0-5)	Smokey nose with leather and plums.	4.25
Taste (0-10)	Mouth watering wine with strong tannins and a very dry profile with plum skin notes.	8.25
	Total:	16.5 / 20 (82.5%)

As we mentioned at just over $21 this is a somewhat pricey Nero.  We have had quality versions for  probably $5 - $7 less.  That said it is a solid wine and it is a perfect pairing with spaghetti or pizza but works well on its own.

Keep on tasting!

Chris & Shannon