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This Week's Must-Try Wines from Vinous

Welcome to this week's Vinous Top Ten! Each week we compile a list of top ten wines from the Vinous database that you need to add to your wine wish list. With all the various regions, producers, and grapes, no week will be the same! All of the wines listed in this feature are available for purchase on Banquet . This week's must-try wines are from Ian D’Agata’s article, Sicily: Where Great Wines and Lava Flow . Enjoy an excerpt from his article and his notes for this week's top ten below! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ “Sitting down and writing my annual Sicily report has never been so exciting. I don’t remember the last time I tasted through so many world-class wines, both white and red, from Sicily; probably never, in fact. In a nutshell, that’s what you need to know about the state of Sicilian wine today: while the potential for memorable wines has always been there, it appears that at long last many of the island’s estates (though certainly not all) are finally starting to harness that potential.” --Ian D’Agata, Sicily: Where Great Wines and Lava Flow, August 2019 1. 2017Arianna Occhipinti Il Frappato 2. 2017 Benanti Etna Bianco 3. 2018 Bonavita Rosato 4. 2017 Donnafugata Nero d’Avola Sherazade 5. 2016 Eduardo Torres Acosta Nerello Mascalese Versante Nord 6. 2017 Frank Cornelissen Nerello Mascalese Munjebel 7. 2015 Marabino Rosso di Contrada 8. 2017 Pietradolce Etna Bianco Archineri 9. 2017 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Bianco 10. 2017 Tornatore Etna Bianco

Tornatore

Etna Bianco Carricante 2017

Delectable Wine
9.2

Good full yellow. Enters honeyed and creamy with aromatic herbal nuances, then very juicy and lemony on the bright, supple finish. Made from Carricante grown at 650 meters above sea level on the northern slope of Etna. Really quite impressive, well done here. (Ian D'Agata, Vinous, August 2019) — 5 years ago

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Eduardo Torres Acosta

Versante Nord Terre Siciliane Nerello Mascalese 2016

Delectable Wine
9.1

Luminous red. Aromas of flinty red berries, fresh herbs and broom on the enticing nose. Then richer and riper than the Pirrera, with a smoother, deeper personality and a more balanced approach to its fleshy and structured red fruit and herbal flavors. Finishes long and crisp. (Ian D'Agata, Vinous, August 2019) — 5 years ago

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Bonavita

Terre Siciliane Rosato 2018

Delectable Wine
9.2

Bright medium-light red. Slightly reticent aromas of herbs and red fruit initially, then opens with aeration to offer enticingly ripe, almost decadent red cherry and raspberry nectar aromas. Enters big and juicy, offering multilayered flavors of ripe red berries and cherries, then sleeker in the middle, offering a strong mineral underpinning along with hints of almond paste and lemon peel. Finishes with noteworthy tannic bite and lots of freshness and an intense note of cherry nectar. Another standout Rosato from Bonavita, in my opinion one of Italy’s 10 best Rosato producers. (Ian D'Agata, Vinous, August 2019) — 5 years ago

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Tenuta delle Terre Nere

Cuvée delle Vigne Niche Etna Bianco White Blend 2017

Delectable Wine
8.9

Good full yellow. Aromas of peach, eucalyptus and pear. Luscious and ripe, with good grapefruit, white pepper, and a touch of honey in the mouth. Slightly rounder and sweeter than the 2018, boasting a long finish of chamomile and sweet herbs. (Ian D'Agata, Vinous, August 2019) — 5 years ago

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Pietradolce

Archineri Etna Bianco Carricante 2017

Delectable Wine
9.2

Good full bright yellow. Perfumed aromas of melon, honey and lime. Light, fine-grained fresh citrus and melon flavors are deepened by subtle peach and mineral notes, which gain power on the long back end. The finish is nicely focused and offers repeating citrus and floral notes. Made from Carricante vines that are mostly over 100 years old planted at 850 meters above sea level on the eastern slope of Etna. (Ian D'Agata, Vinous, August 2019) — 5 years ago

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Benanti

Etna Bianco Carricante 2017

Delectable Wine
8.8

Pale straw. Open knit, very clean pear, peach and nectarine aromas, with strong floral undertones. Easygoing and subtle, with flavors of pear, apple, mint and minerals, and a lightly tropical quality. Nicely persistent on the juicy finish. (Ian D'Agata, Vinous, August 2019) — 5 years ago

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Marabino

Rosso di Contrada Nero d'Avola 2015

Delectable Wine
8.8

Good full red. Plum, apricot and nuts on the nose. Clean and fairly full in the mouth, with noteworthy flavor intensity of herbs and red fruit. Lively suggestions of spicy licorice on the juicy, increasingly tannic close. (Ian D'Agata, Vinous, August 2019) — 5 years ago

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Frank Cornelissen

Munjebel (Classico) Rosso Nerello Mascalese 2017

Delectable Wine
8.8

Deep ruby. Aromas and flavors of coffee, black cherry, rhubarb and quinine. Enters juicy and fresh, then turns rounder and peppery with a hint of residual sweetness on the fresh back end. (Ian D'Agata, Vinous, August 2019) — 5 years ago

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Donnafugata

Sherazade Sicilia Nero d'Avola 2017

Delectable Wine
9.0

Bright medium-dark red-ruby. Herbs, spices and dark plum with a violet topnote. Then more licorice and herbs in the mouth with a juicy mouthfeel. Finishes bright and fresh with good persistence. If wine could be fun, then this is a blast. (Ian D'Agata, Vinous, August 2019) — 5 years ago

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Arianna Occhipinti

Terre Siciliane Il Frappato 2017

Delectable Wine
9.0

Luminous red. Inviting aromas of ripe red cherry, raspberry nectar, cinnamon, and minerals. Fresh and juicy, with lovely inner-mouth perfume to the mineral and sweet, spicy red berry flavors. Finishes long and fragrant. Perhaps not as concentrated as some past Frappatos from this estate, but a lovely wine nonetheless. (Ian D'Agata, Vinous, August 2019) — 5 years ago

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