March Premium Six-Pack 2023 - Italy: Songs of The South

A field blend of carricante, cataratto, inzolia, greganico and minella grown at an eye-watering 750m altitude, this finely composed white offers notes of almonds, orange peel and sea spray. The palate is slightly waxy yet driving, finishing off with a cleansing sweep of saline acidity. It's a beautiful original white, just like the place it comes from. It's wild yet delicate.

The most succulent ripe peach aromas complemented by hints of tangerine and fresh mint waft up from the 2021 Grillo Timpa. It is round and fleshy in feel, with sweet inner florals up front that give way to tropical melon and exotic spice. While a bit extroverted in character, there's plenty of stimulating acidity and sour citrus tones within to maintain fabulous balance. The 2021 leaves the palate completely refreshed with hints of kiwi and lime zest that linger. This really packs a punch, yet it never gets cloying or tiring. ERIC GUIDO, vinous.com

Honey, spiced pear, ginger, white smoke and kitchen herbs all roll around the bowl of the glass here. Typical for this wine and the variety, it's more expansive and decadent than the other whites in the range. The palate too has more sideways movement and slinky texture than the out-of-the-gate sprint of them as well. Instead, it  aristocratically strolls along the palate, with depth and richness of texture carried by buried minerality and acidity. The flavours are more about stonefruit rather than citrus but there's a little of that hanging around as well. Like all the wines, it is bristling with energy and such a departure form the resinous and heavy styles that are so common in the area.

Cannonau is one of the most widely-planted red grapes in Sardinia. It is the same grape variety as Grenache, but as is the case with most grapes, it expresses itself differently depending on where its cultivated. There is always a more earthy bent that you so often see in most Italian reds and it colours grenache in the same way.

Contini's 'Tonaghe' is very easy-going with lovely ripe plum and wild blackberry fruit with touched of dried and fresh leather. Some dried herbs give it a wild edge adding a little chirpy lift. Fine-boned tannins cut the compact red fruits nicely complementing the crunchy red fruits that dance nicely on the gentle close.

The 2020 Etna Rosso Erse keeps me coming back to the glass to take in its lively and spicy bouquet, as sour cherries are complemented by dried roses, cloves and hints of fresh mint. This is round and juicy in feel, yet focused on purity, with mineral-tinged red berries that saturate, just as brisk acidity maintains fantastic freshness. A subtle coating of fine tannins and a salty flourish define the finale, as the 2020 tapers off gently grippy under an air of red inner florals. This is an excellent "entry-level" Etna Rosso. ERIC GUIDO, Vinous

Filippo Rizzo's vines are in the middle of nowhere perched in amongst the rolling hills of Sicily. The Lamoresca Rosso" is a blend of Nero d'Avola, Frappato and Grenache grapes. This was a wine the Filippo and wife Nancy wanted to create that captured the soul of Sicily in a glass and we think it does just that.

Plump and fleshy but vibrant and built with total gluggability in mind. The glossy fruit presents with a melting pot of crushed red and black berries all laced together with a smokey earthiness that weaves in and out on both the palate and nose. Its bold but not in your face. The perfect wine for any Italian meal that you could throw it. A light sprinkle of brisk tannin keeps everything fresh and on-point. What a cracker!