Wines of the week: At Franco’s restaurant in Mayfair, a tasting of Rosés from 12 countries, great fun and some nice surprises: Rallo “Normanno” Nerello Mascalese 2008 (Sicily), from the slopes of Mount Etna, quite dry, well-structured, medium-bodied, fairly serious; intriguing. I had it again later with garganelli and n’duja (hot and spicy sausage) and smoked ricotta, and it more than held its own. Also, a charming, refreshing sipper, Agricola Vinosia "Rosmunda" 2008 (Catania, made by Mario Ercolino), from the Aglianico grape, a surprisingly light wine, with a zip of acidity and lovely fruit—think strawberry fields forever.
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I may be the only wine drinker in the world with this problem, but I often find the names of Italian wines to be confusing. I love the wine when it's a good one. I just have a hard time remembering the name, like the name of the shortstop for the Cleveland Indians.
Your mention of Rallo "Normanno" Nerello Mascalese from Sicily caused me to think of Norello del Bastardo which is occasionally get at Trader Joe's. Do they have Trader Joe's markets outside the USA? Norello del Bastardo is a tasty red. I would call it peppery.
Trader Joe’s? Undoubtedly a bargain. It’s a fairly rare wine. This is probably a blend of Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Capuccio (hence the bastardo designation, easy to figure out). The former is light, the latter dark, the blend looks nice, probably not a bad wine, certainly unusual (very dry, upstanding, a hint of spice). A nice change of pace, basically.
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