Our panel: Alex Meikle-Briggs, Head Sommelier, Grossi Restaurants; Iona Baker, Italian wine importer, Trembath & Taylor; Isabella Greco, Sommelier; James Scarcebrook, Vino Intrepido winemaker; Katarina Lange, Sommelier, Botanical Hotel; Luke Campbell, wine consultant, Vinified cellar management; Madeline Marson, winemaker, Vinea Marson; and Nick Lee, Gradi Group Sommelier.
With eight of the finest palates in attendance, we gathered every example we could find in Australia and set our expert panel the tasks of finding the wines that compelled the most. All wines were tasted blind, and each panellist named their top six wines. Below are the top wines from the tasting.
Lee and Greco had this wine in their top-two of the tasting, while Campbell and Marson placed it their top-three. “Dark fruits of black cherry, plum and jam hit your nose along with very pronounced savory herbaceous aromatics greet you as you take a deep long inhale,” said Lee. “Think scents of dried green herbs followed by the dark fruit aromatics running underneath it. The palate is balanced and savory. Dark cherry and plum are mixed with a wonderful crunchy red cherry acidity – blood orange or even pomegranate – that runs along your mouth with touches of white pepper spice in the background. The crunchy red cherry fruit and acidity create enough well-balanced texture and body and showcases the vibrancy and youth of the wine. The tannins for this wine are kept in check and not overpowering, they are well integrated, smooth and not too big giving this nero d’avola a great finish. This wine screams at me to take it to a BBQ with grilled meat and sausages.” “A complex nose of dried flowers and five spice accompanied by a plethora of bright, juicy berry fruits – red and dark cherries and ripe plums,” noted Marson. “Juicy and supple tannins, deeply plummy fruit and an almost brooding palate that concludes with a lick of attractive spiciness.” Campell wrote: “Brooding deep colour, mix of exotic spices, cardamon, black bean and liquorice notes leap from the glass. Really fleshy palate, fun for everyone. Utterly Beguiling. The acids are subtle with these black pastel, chalk like tannins, just beautiful in the glass. This is a choose your own adventure story, drink the wine with friends at a party, or sit down with a glass and gaze lovingly into it. If only it was paired to rich braise of beef shin aka osso buco. A knockout wine.”
This was Meikle-Briggs’ wine of the day, with Baker, Greco, Campbell and Marson also placing it in their top-six wines. Meikle-Briggs noted: “Cranberries, redberries, tart raspberries, blood orange. Lavender, touch of rose, a beautiful earthiness and charcuterie. Harder herbs – rosemary and thyme in particular – and graphite. I love the blood orange zest that comes through in this wine! Excellent acidity rounded off the wine. A tough call, but my favourite! This sits in the lighter, less concentrated end of the nero d’avola spectrum and would go perfectly with a ragu a la siciliana or a spiced wild boar ragu.” “A more playful expression on the nose with delicate floral aromas of violets and enticing purple and dark fruits – a pleasant and sweet nose with cassis, blackberry and plum,” said Marson. “There was some body too on the palate, suggesting a balance between ripeness and winemaking accompanied by spiciness and a chalky tannin finish. A youthful style that wears its rusticity proudly.” “Really pretty, dark red colour,” commented Campbell. “Cut fennel, aniseed with violets and vanilla on the nose. A robust palate, and one for the chocoholics among us. This wine is almost creamy, it has flavours baked quince, with coffee, mocha and cocoa all coming through. Good wood use, bold weight, great line of refreshing acid, with some chunky tannins. This wine would be age worthy. Stick in your cellar for five years or longer.” “It had sweet ripe, slightly confected plum, cranberry fruit with a hint of restrained black cherry, but I found the interest more in an exotic bergamot lift, but also savoury aspects, fennel, saltbush and dark cured beefy flavours,” said Baker. “Interesting and thought provoking with both pretty floral notes but plenty of muscle.” Greco exclaimed: “What a lovely wine! As I brought the glass closer to my nose, it was spices that brought me in a dream like dimension. Cinnamon, nutmeg, white pepper, clove, star anise, cardamom. Wow!”
“Right-oh, we are on,” exclaimed Campbell, placing this in his top spot. “Bright in the glass, cue the air guitar! This wine have the volume turned up to 11. Red fruits burst from the glass with touches of thyme sprigs and bay leaf. The mouthfeel is medium weight and savoury, not overblown by alcohol. The wine has a beautiful balance. It sings lead vocals of sour cherries, squashed pomegranate and blood orange. Electric guitars scream in the background with acid that is so refreshing. Your back palate is cleansed, and you instantly want another sip. A grenache or pinot look-a-like. Raise your guitars above your head, let’s party! This wine has the energy of an 90’s glam-rock concert! Think: Warrant’s glam rock anthem ‘Cherry Pie’. Pass me a straw – wine of the day!” This wine the second-top nero for Baker, noting: “Ruby coloured and flavoured, mixing crunchy sour cherry flavours mixed with darker blackberries. Adding interest was hints of cardamom, thyme, blood orange and a slight salty minerality with finer chalky tannins. I like the way this wine danced between fruit spectrums and herbal savoury characters.” Lee also gave it a top-six placing. “ The nose had wonderful savoury earthy, herbaceous aromatics with touches of tobacco and dried cooking herbs,” he said. “Perhaps one of the most expressive aromatic wines today. The fruit was a great combination of red and dark fruits consisting of red cherry, pomegranate, blood orange, dark plum, black jam and even a touch amaro like in aromatics. Like smelling Amaro Montenegro.”
Marson and Lange both had this as their second-top wine of the day, and it also made Meikle-Briggs’ top-six list. “Briary fruit, dark cherry aromas as well as lifted florals on the nose,” noted Marson. “Robustness continues on the palate with fleshy dark cherries and cassis balanced by a fresh acidity and interestingly bitter finish. Exudes power while maintaining fresh and bright fruit character on the palate.” Lange wrote: “Red Morello cherries and firm blackberries make up the fruit aromas with additional camphor, redcurrant tea and cedar. There is a savoury streak of bay leaf, cumin seeds charred meats and spent campfire embers. The palate shows great intensity of flavour, supported by sticky tannins and fresh acidity. Fruits mirror the nose with a distinct charcuterie flavour profile and savoury herbs. The wine shows great complexity and balance with a distinct savouriness. Would be great with charr-grilled meats and roasted lamb.” “This would go well with any form of game meat, eggplant parmigiana, or a sharper aged style of cheese – especially mature Tasmanian cheddar,” said Meikle-Briggs.
This was Marson’s top wine of the tasting, with it coming in at second-top on Campbell’s list. “A balanced nose of red fruits grading to a darker core and savouriness of spicy oak and a hint of earthiness,” wrote Marson. “The dark core continues on the palate – one that is both rich and supple, with dark plum, cassis and cranberry flavours followed by alluring tannins. They start with the variety’s typical chalkiness before being rounded and coated by fruit and a persistent mouthfeel. Smoky oak on both the nose and palate are attractively in balance with the wine’s generous fruit profile. A spicy finish replete with amaro bitterness and long length cry out for a hearty plate of food.” “A refined example – smells of the Mediterranean, said Campbell. “Pretty violet florals with Amaro herbs, aged balsamic and olive tapenade all permeate from the glass. The flavours of boysenberry, mulberry and capsicum unfurl. The palate is super juicy, with almost sweet with supple acid. The tannins here _ gravelly and chewy – are a hallmark. Screaming for some pork sausage or something. This wine has a great shape, across the front, middle and back palate. At the richer shiraz-end of the spectrum, but restrained. It so long, I could even see this wine ageing 7+ years. A food wine. A find myself dreaming of being elbows deep in big bowl of Nonna’s ‘Spaghetti Amatriciana’ with all the trimmings, guanciale and hot chilli flakes. Tomato splattered everywhere, just licking my lips for more.”
Greco had this as her top wine of the day, with Meikle-Briggs and Lange also including it among their top-six. Greco wrote: “Garnet red with some very light orange hues. On the nose I found notes of rain and forest, wet soil, ripe red and darker fruit. The palate just matched the aromas and I was in heaven. A generosity of fruit, grapes, cherry, plum, berries and very gentle touch of baked orange peel on the finish. All flavours well balanced with great acidity providing fantastic freshness, and silky tannins accompanying the long finish. Vinous, generous and transparent. A wine that is clear, with personality, that doesn’t want to be anything different. I would drink this with anything from oven baked fish with capers, cherry tomatoes and olives; with pasta; with meat; with pizza. Even sip a glass with some olives and anchovie, butter and bread.” “To me, this was the most unique of all the wines on display,” said Lange. “Compared to traditional nero d’avola wines, it is incredibly different. However, the most interesting of the lot. Could be paired with anything from soft cheeses and cured meats to simply being drunk on it’s own.” “Really delicious black tea flavours, slight green capsicum flavour and sweetness to the fruit which was distinctive,” commented Meikle-Briggs. “Slight funk and animalistic quality, which blew off after a little while. Great savouriness; charcuterie with rosemary and thyme; as well as blood orange and mushroom. Very well-balanced wine. This would pair well with a miso and soy marinated eggplant.”
This was Lee’s wine of the tasting, while it rounded out the top few in Scarcebrook’s selections. “Wonderfully pleasant on the nose,” commented Lee. “I’m greeted with a green herbaceous aroma full of dried herbs like sage and oregano followed by intriguing dark fruits such as dark cherry, plum and blackcurrant with underlying notes of chocolate and liquorice. Slight hints of vanilla rounding off the aromatics. The palate is filled with the same dark fruit of plum and blackcurrant along with delicate white pepper spice and tiny balanced parts of crunchy red cherry and pomegranate. Think dark fruit on top and the pepper, spice and red fruit on the bottom. There is great fine acidity that shoots right along the centre of your palate leaving your mouth refreshed after every sip. The tannin structure is well integrated, slightly dusty and chalky. It makes you instantly think of food to accompany every sip of wine. Something like prosciutto with that extra bit of oily fat. The finish is very persistent in your mouth and not overpowering showcasing the elegant body and texture. A fantastic wine that would be highly recommended to go with Italian cuisine, with tomato-based sauces.” “Deep and inviting, lovely floral and refined fruits of blackberries and plums, and very subtle hints of pepper and spice,” wrote Scarcebrook in his tasting note. “Soft plush and very massaged tannins, quite round and mellow, well managed weight, tannin and alcohol without moving into over manipulated territory. Tannins linger and freshness has you asking for another glass.”
Scarcebrook had this as his number one wine from the tasting, while it was also in the top-six for Meikle-Briggs. “Nice integration and finesse, complex and inviting aroma, serious maturity of purple fruits, plums and blackcurrant, like the most adult redskin lolly ever,” said Scaracebrook. “Some spice and well-balanced oak notes. Bold and expressive; juicy but not heavy or over the top. Great dark fruit notes moving into refined cassis and blackberries; mellow but focused tannins; oak well integrated; decent length; good amount of warmth to cuddle the entire package. A great example of a serious style and absolutely has potential for cellaring, I’d like to see it again in a few years.” “This wine had this very unique peppermint character that I didn’t find in any of the other wines, nor have I seen in Sicily,” commented Meikle-Briggs. “This is what makes Australia so special. There is a fantastic array of spices: cloves, star anise, black pepper. There’s also a great balance of acidity in this wine, which gives it great freshness and highlights that peppermint character. This would be a natural match with lamb rack alongside a salsa verde.”
This was Lange’s top selection, with it also featuring among the top-six wines for Greco. “Aromas of bright red cherry, black Morello cherry and hints of bramble fruits,” began Lange’s noted. “There is a prettiness to the nose with dried rose petals and violets, spearmint and cola bean. Additional dark roasted almonds, sarsaparilla and pastrami add complexity. The tannins are fine, chalky and prominent, but the palate is refreshed by the elevated acidity. Zippy red fruits predominate the flavour profile with a slight lactic element reminiscent of raspberry yogurt. To me, this would be the most approachable example of the grape for our clientele. Pretty and lifted with tannins and acidity in perfect balance. Could be matched with dishes ranging from prosciutto and antipasti, grilled eye fillet steak to mushroom risotto. Very versatile and complex.”
This was in Lee’s top few selections and Baker also included it in her top-six wines from the tasting. “This wine had a very soft, savory and delicate nose,” noted Lee. “Quite pretty – think sweet dark blossoms. Dark fruits such as the classic black cherry and plum fill your aromatic senses as well as wonderful hints of white pepper spice with savoury dried herbs. These seem to be the hallmarks of great, balanced nero d’avolas. As you go to taste the wine, the wonderful dark fruit you smelled comes rushing in followed by red cherry fruits, not sour, but with enough fine acidity to give the wine a great youthful, cleansing feel. The light taste of the white pepper spice follows finely at the end, but it isn’t overbearing and does not make itself the shining star here. Quite balanced. This wine would be something that I would not have to overthink and could be a great crowd pleaser. The wine ends up a joy to drink, and very food friendly if you are having tomato-based pasta.” “This wine had an overall spicy and savoury character,” said Baker. Smokey, flint, tobacco, liquorice and burnt orange zest with persistent, long brightly fruit flavours like redcurrant, blackcurrant and cherry and grainy linen-like tannins. It’s calling out for chargrilled meats and caponata.”
Baker has this in her top few selections and Campbell also included it in his top-six list. “This wine showed darker black fruit: blackcurrant, plum and cassis,” noted Baker. “Lush and full bodied with a slippery mouthfeel, the intense fruit is balanced with richer oak flavours – vanilla pod, clove and liquorice – some cured bresaola and olive savoury notes helped to balance these sweeter characters before another hit of crunchy blackberry flavours linger.” “Exotic, lifted aromas, really fragrant, cinnamon and Sichuan Pepper, fresh Christmas cherries, cedar and tobacco leaf,” wrote Campbell. “Yummy ripe redcurrants in the mouth, really slippery and slurpable. Stewed rhubarb and cherries combine here with cigar box notes. Good weight with fruit and a backbone of acids and tannins. Serve with BBQ burgers and bacon. This is your friend with benefits. Take it to a BBQ and everyone will want to know you. No strings attached. The simple things in life are often the best.”
Baker declared this the top wine from the tasting. “This wine stood out simply by looking at it – bright ruby coloured with a glistening polish. Upfront aromas of red plum, raspberry and pomegranate were interlaced up with rich sweet-balsamic notes and subtle baking spices – think clove and cinnamon, a hint of curry leaf and eucalypt. Medium bodied, the wine showed long persistent fruit flavours, refreshing red and dark berries with hints of fennel, black olive and tea leaf backed up with building sandy tannins. It made me want a plate of charcuterie.”
This was in Scarcebrook’s top two wines of the day. “Jubey blackberries and fragrant cassis. Juicy and flavourful but very light and fresh, nice balance and solid ripe fruit, clean finish and very pleasant. I like the way it dances on the palate, one of the better examples of a lighter, almost gamay-like style. Fruits in the juicy red spectrum – raspberries and cranberries – with a very delicate amount of alcohol and secondary winemaking characteristics. A vibrant, crunchy style done exceptionally well. Happy drinking all year round!”
Meikle-Briggs had this in his top two wines from the tasting. “The wine has fantastic freshness, due to great acid with flavours of sage, oregano and slight hints of green under ripe vegetable character, with touches of green pepper and fruit leather. Chocolate and vanilla were evident as well, as well as sweet baking spice, indicated by a well-balanced use of oak, highlighting more chocolatey characters with hints of baking spice. This would pair well with a roasted porchetta. This sits somewhere in the middle of the nero d’avola scale, but the freshness gives the wine a lift.”
This was in Meikle-Briggs’ top few wines from on the day. “Looking at this leaner style reminded me of nerello mascalese wines – although grown often on different soil, this graphite character and the shorter maceration and overall aromas of the wine had element of graphite as well as the crunchier style of nero d’avola found near Vittoria amongst others. Great freshness again, chewy tannins, pomegranates, cranberries, crushed raspberries, blood orange. This wine had fantastic balance, beautifully crunchy and savoury. This would pair perfectly alongside pea stuffed squid with a tomato sauce, or roasted duck breast with a pomegranate glaze. This is an extremely elegant wine that sits on the lighter side.”
“This wine has the prettiest colour,” said Greco, placing it among her top few selections. “Bright cold red with a slight purple undertone. Saturated and sexy. I’d love a lipstick in this colour! A very good wine with good acidity and well-integrated tannins. Fresh and textural, with a perfumed nose of red fruit and blossoms, found again on the palate with the addition of raspberry, dark cherry, plum and pepper. Fruity and warm, counterbalanced with a slightly bitter raw almond finish.”
This was placed in Lange’s top three wines of the day. “A much darker and more brooding expression of the grape with blackberry and black cherry aromas,” she wrote. “There are slight herbaceous notes of blackberry tea and dry forest floor. Toasted nuts, dried beef and toasted fennel seeds balance the sweet notes of pipe tobacco and rum & raisin. The palate is on the fuller side with a fine network of framing tannins and supporting acidity. Overall, a very complex and balanced wine showcasing the darker element of the grape. Should be paired with grilled beef or truffled dishes.”
Scarcebrook placed this wine among his top-six on the day. “It’s all about the primary characters: lovely bright juicy fresh red fruits, lighter in colour and concentration. Lighter and fresher on the palate, minimal tannins, very tasty. Nice crunchy chewy pomegranate, red cherry and spicy raspberries. An excellent example of keeping things hands off and capturing a gorgeous uncomplicated easy drinking wine that works well for Summer and BBQs.”
“Broody, brambly fruit on the nose accompanied by dark cherries and lifted floral aromas” wrote Marson, including this wine in her top-six selections. “A vibrant and delicious palate – plush generosity of red and dark cherries, cassis and ripe plums, accompanied by a lovely spiciness and integrated yet characteristic tannins. The wine has a mouth coating quality and length of fruit that is moreish, with a bright acid line and pleasingly long finish. There is dynamism and subtlety to it amidst the powerful fruit that is very nice.”
This made the top-six list for both Baker and Scarcebrook. “Deep and dark – dark florals and dark fruits of cassis and blood plums with some sweet spices thrown in for good measure,” noted Scarcebrook. “Shows signs of secondary winemaking notes – the oak is proud and polished. Juicy, flavourful fruit, round and rich, warm and fulfilling but not too heavy or jubey – a bit heady in fact. Exceptionally well-made wine. If you like your reds big and showy, this is a very good example.” Baker wrote: “With its deep magenta colour and rounded full body, this wine showed the dark characters often associated with nero d’avola: ripe black plum and blackcurrant, vanilla, malt, richer dark chocolate and neroli oil. It has great generosity flavours, body and dry dusty-red tannins which is well suited to the lovers of full bodied, spicy Australian red wines.”
Lee and Marson both had this in their top-six wines of the day. “A great wine for those wanting to try nero d’avola for the first time and don’t want to get too scared or offended in the mouth with sharp acidity,” said Lee. “Dark fruits jump out of the. Black cherry and dark plum hit you right away with underlying smells of red raspberry fruits, followed by a savoury note with hints of the classic dried cooking herbs. Soft, subtle, pleasing aromas of chocolate also round up the aromatic experience. The palate is very dark fruited here. Hints of vanilla come through showing its handling with oak alongside notes of mocha and subtle white pepper spice.” “Fresh and rich plums on the nose alongside brambly notes and sweet spice – an interesting complexity,” noted Marson. “The palate is rich and powerful but holds elegance to it too, with juicy, bright notes of redcurrant and plum grading to a hint of prune balanced by a crunchy acidity. The tannins are chewy and integrated, followed by a pleasing bitterness. A nice play between power and restraint – a wine I would love to see again in a couple of years.”
“Nice sour cherries and strawberries, a bit of raspberries as well. Just a hint of wildness and sweet herbs to add intrigue,” noted Scarcebrook, including this among his top-sex selections. “Juicy and fresh, flavourful but not heavy, oaky or alcoholic. Good drinking and a good food wine. Very dry and lovely chewy, bitey tannins. Very much entrenched in red fruit territory – sour plums and raspberries with just a touch of fruit-sweet strawberries. An edgier nero d’avola to be sure, but nice to have something a bit different.”
Lange including this in her top-six wines of the day. “A very delicate, elegant and lifted example of the grape. Dark morello cherry, concentrated cranberry and blood orange are distinct fruit elements, with fresh red roses and hints of potpourri. Prominet and pectin-like tannins balance the sweetness of the fruits while carrying the length. The body is smooth and supple with great depth and persistence. Semi-sweet chocolate and kirsch feature on the palate with the recurrence of blood orange and floral characters. A pretty wine which would appeal to pinot noir and grenache drinkers. Pair with cured or grilled meats, or Comté or Gruyère cheese.”
“This wine felt like a nero d’avola for the shiraz drinker,” wrote Lee, placing this in his top-six. “It’ll never be as big and powerful as a shiraz, but it has the qualities to lead you into trying nero d’avola. The nose is full of dark black cherry and plum, following up with chocolate and liquorice. Aromas of white pepper spice and dried herbs join the aromatic combination giving you a feeling that this wine will be richer and fuller bodied in style. The palate is full of dark fruit, lashings of blackcurrant and dark plum, but surprisingly the mouthfeel has great balance to it and is not overly jammy but still concentrated. There’s a hint of spice running down the centre of your palate with smooth, fine and not aggressive tannins. This is a wine to that would be able to show the classic grape variety drinkers what else is out there. Food wise, I’m thinking Bistecca alla Fiorentina – a Florence style T-bone cooked steak would go perfectly well with this wine.”
“One of the funkiest of the lineup,” said Greco, putting this wine in her top-six from the tasting. “Edgy, daring, with a distinctive note of mushrooms, and notes of orange blossom flowers and parsley. Intense, structured. Chalky tannins, not intrusive, allowing you to enjoy the flavours of ripe cherry, pomegranate, blueberry and fig jam. So much fun. I would enjoy this wine slightly chilled on a hot day, perhaps with a barbecue and roasted vegetables.”
“An incredibly rich and aromatic wine with crunchy red cherry, raspberry and pomegranate on the nose,” commented Lange when including this among her top-six wines. “Lavender, cardamom, orange rind, sandalwood and celery salt add complexity. The palate is on the lighter side with powdery tannin and moderate acidity. Compared to the nose, the fruits are slightly more confected, but not overripe. Would work well with roasted pork or even a chicken schnitzel.”
Campbell, included this wine in his top-six selections: “This is a stand your spoon up in it wine. It’s rich and thick shiraz-styled. Sweet, meaty nose. Think: Casalingo salami, spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and pencil shavings. Love, love, love the brashness of this wine. It is Justin Timberlake in his post Britney era ‘Bringing Sexy Back’. You want to stand up and dance to a beat, with glass in your hand. All charcuterie, with roasted tomato, and a bouquet garni of herbs. Flavours flood the palate with subtle complexity, alongside rose water, olive leaf and tilled earth, the finish goes on and on. The secret to this wine is the generous tannins; ferrous tannins. Match it to an Indian curry, lentils or even a rogan josh. Drinking now.”
Many of Italy’s native grapes are thought to have passed through the south, having filtered across from Greece, finding their best territory over time, adapting and mutating along the way. Some proliferated in the sunny south, others found refuge in the mountains and further north, while many remain scattered throughout.
Interestingly, while defined Italian borders are a relatively modern thing, the leading southern red varieties are almost exclusively grown in their own regions, barely – if at all – migrating to their close neighbours: gaglioppo in Calabria, negroamaro and primitivo in Puglia, and nero d’avola in Sicily – while aglianico straddles both Campania and Basilicata.
Sicily’s leading red variety is overwhelmingly nero d’avola. Literally translated, the grape’s name means “black from Avola”, a town in the south-east in the province of Syracuse. So, a black grape from a town about as far from the rest of Italy as possible, but oddly the grape is officially known by the name calabrese, pinning it to Calabria – the toe of the Italian boot – where it is barely present, with Sicily accounting for 98 per cent of Italy’s plantings.
Nero d’avola has been the historical workhorse red grape of the island, being a reliable producer of reasonably large volumes of agreeable red. Unlike primitivo and negroamaro, which can yield intensely powerful wines, nero d’avola typically turns out mid-weight ones, and even much lighter examples due to the Sicilian propensity to return large crops. In truth, this was very much a pan-Italian approach, with lighter wines historically favoured over richer ones, prior to a 20th century wine revolution that prioritised concentration over quaffability.
In Sicily today, light and mid-weight neros rub shoulders with examples that are pushed to full concentration and ripeness – if not as buxom as those of negroamaro and primitivo from Puglia. And while the south-east is the spiritual home of the grape, it is grown widely across the island, and bottled both solo and in blends, with modern interpretations pairing it with varieties like cabernet sauvignon and syrah. The classic match, though, is with another local grape, the pretty, berry-scented frappato. A blend that can be an even split of the two grapes – though more typically leans to more nero – is responsible for the island’s only DOCG: Cerasuolo di Vittoria.
No doubt adapting over time, nero d’avola has become perfectly suited to local conditions, with it tolerating heat stress like few – if any – other varieties. Its vulnerability, perhaps, is that it has relatively thin skins, making it more susceptible to disease pressure during the growing season. But again, this is also suited to its prime territory, where abundant sunshine, generally drying conditions and maritime breezes often negate that pressure. Those thinner skins also avoid a gruffness of tannins, which the hot southern sun would only enhance.
Over its 200-odd year history, Australia has primarily relied on classic noble grape varieties to drive the industry, most of them French. Shiraz, cabernet, semillon, chardonnay, grenache and riesling have been the mainstays, with Italian grapes not really featuring until the end of the 20th century, which is perhaps surprising given the level of post-war immigration from Italy.
Typically, those new arrivals responded to what was around them, with farmers growing what was successful, whether it be vegetables, tobacco or the available grapes, for wine or the table. They adapted. It wasn’t generally until a little later that some of those home-country traditions were recreated more fully, with areas like the King Valley pivoting from tobacco farming to becoming grape-growing centres.
And although some of the more familiar Italian names – like nebbiolo, sangiovese and barbera – got an earlier start, it wasn’t until an ambitious project by the Chalmers family to import a raft of vines that a serious exploration of native Italian varieties began in earnest.
In 1999, in partnership with Italian nursery Vivai Cooperativi Rauscedo and with the assistance of renowned consultant Dr Alberto Antonini, the first vines landed, with many planted in the Chalmers’ family vineyard in the early 2000s, once out of quarantine. Much of Bruce Chalmers’ motivation was to find both varieties and clones that would perform in Australia’s wildly diverse regions, perhaps eclipsing the incumbent – and rather narrow – selection of varieties over time.
“Nero is certainly a late ripener. You’re able to let it hang on the vine to get the acid to drop a bit, but the flavour and sugar won’t move much. Unlike shiraz, which quickly gets baked and jammy and then you need to add acid back. You don’t need to add anything to nero. It’s lazy winemaking at its best.”
Nero d’avola was imported in that first batch of vines, along with other key varieties landing for the first time, such as aglianico and sagrantino. Chalmers first planted nero in the Murray Darling region at their original nursery in Euston in 2002, and subsequently in their Heathcote vineyard. The first commercial wine was made from fruit from Euston in 2009, with 2011 seeing the first Heathcote release.
While the Chalmers family were pursuing their own investigations into making wine from the grape, they were also selling vines around Australia, with Brown Brothers the first customer (that stock went to one of their Heathcote vineyards) in 2006. By 2008, vines had been planted in the Riverland, Riverina, Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Queensland’s Granite Belt, while cuttings were being held in quarantine in Western Australia. Today, there are over 50 vineyards with nero in the ground.
Aside from the possibility of vine material being imported illicitly, all of those vines were propagated from the one clone, which was selected for Chalmers by Dr Antonini from a vineyard in Vittoria, Ragusa. And while Kim Chalmers – Bruce’s daughter and the Wine Operations Manager – admits mono-clonality is not ideal (new vine material is currently in quarantine), she believes that even without that diversity of material, nero has established its identity rapidly and decisively.
“I feel like it’s off to a better start than nebbiolo or sangiovese,” Chalmers says, “because the early nero wines are making more sense straight up. We are smarter in our approach now – not just trying to make everything like shiraz, actually letting the grape speak, which nero is doing well across the board.”
Ashley Ratcliff of Ricca Terra Farms in South Australia’s Riverland was an early adopter of nero, planting it originally with the sole motivation of coping with the long-running drought in the first decade of this century. What was originally almost an act of desperation returned surprising results, with the quality and character of the fruit beyond his expectations, plus reducing the water used in irrigation was not just possible, but best practice.
“We now use about half the water of more traditional varieties,” says Ratcliff. “When I first started growing nero, we used to use classic methods to increase quality by reducing yields through shoot thinning and bunch thinning… but stressing the vines by reducing irrigation prior to flowering ‘shatters’ the bunches, with flowers dropping off, meaning you get less berries per bunch with clusters more open for airflow, and your yields are lower.”
Ratcliff says this kind of “shatter” is something that viticulturists would normally despair at, but it’s an adaptive response to a variety with tightly packed bunches, which means that any rot issues close to harvest due to rain events are avoided, plus the crop load is balanced for production of quality wine. So, in many senses, nero is a variety that is well suited to low-rainfall, irrigation-dependent regions, such as those that hug the Murray River.
Ratcliff stresses that the warmer climate also helps nero fruit to develop properly on the vine. “It’s a variety that needs the heat, not necessarily as hot as the Riverland, it could be the Barossa or McLaren Vale, but I think it needs that heat to properly ripen the tannins.”
Andy Coppard of McLaren Vale’s Lino Ramble sees a near-perfect suitability to his region with resultant wines that are also very of place. “To talk about terroir, when you look at McLaren Vale compared to the southern coast of Sicily,” he says, “we’ve got almost identical conditions for climate and rainfall, but our geology is completely different. Sicily’s volcanic soils are some of the most fertile you’ll ever see. Here, we have some of the most ancient, depleted soils where we need to build up organic matter, so while grapes like nero and grillo are perfectly suited, our flavour profiles are so different.”
Ansell Ashby of Gatch Wine, who makes wine both from fruit from his Adelaide Hills base, as well as from the Riverland, believes that nero is not just adapted to the heat, but genuinely relishes it.
“It’s counter-intuitive, but you’re actually able to pick later, but with less alcohol and higher acidity than somewhere cooler… and it develops some quite surprising characters from a place as warm as the Riverland, in that you can still retain this really lovely bright, fresh fruit. And when you have a really hot year, it can survive it better. It can take those eight-day-long 40-degree heatwaves, and the variety is actually tolerant of that.”
“Nero is certainly a late ripener,” laughs Coppard. “You’re able to let it hang on the vine to get the acid to drop a bit, but the flavour and sugar won’t move much. Unlike shiraz, which quickly gets baked and jammy and then you need to add acid back. You don’t need to add anything to nero. It’s lazy winemaking at its best.”
That suitability is seeing nero d’avola develop a following that is far more interested in its quality in the glass than its capacity as a survivor in harsh conditions. Nero has cemented its place as a variety that we will be seeing a lot more of in this country, with characterful and distinctive expressions abounding. It is also a variety that is producing wines of abundant flavour, but ones that are well suited to the tastes of a drinking public that are increasingly interested in elegantly weighted wines.
“It makes sense viticulturally in a lot of the drier warmer areas, using about half the water of other varieties,” says Chalmers. “It responds to the different soil types clearly in the wine. It is generally moderate in alcohol, without adding water, bleeding off juice etc… To me, it makes way more sense to grow the grape that does what we are trying to do than to manipulate the winemaking to get a result with a grape that is clearly not as happy in its environment.”
Nero d’avola is highly responsive to location, with the fruit flavours markedly affected by the soil and growing conditions, and it’s very capable of expressing the mineral characters of site. Notes of wild raspberry and cherries are quite common, often with earthy, tarry accents and scents of wild herbs. As it gets riper, those darker, tarry notes become more prominent, while the prettier red fruits recede, with dark plum and black cherry emerging. When grown on lighter, sandier soils, nero can be very aromatic and quite pretty, while winemaking methods can also help to accent lifted floral notes and fine red fruits, like pomegranate. In terms of weight, nero rarely makes big wines, with even the plusher examples never having the weight of a full-throttle shiraz, for example. Nero’s thin skins generally mean that tannic grip is on the lighter side, with characteristic acidity providing driving freshness.
Our panel: Alex Meikle-Briggs, Head Sommelier, Grossi Restaurants; Iona Baker, Italian wine importer, Trembath & Taylor; Isabella Greco, Sommelier; James Scarcebrook, Vino Intrepido winemaker; Katarina Lange, Sommelier, Botanical Hotel; Luke Campbell, wine consultant, Vinified cellar management; Madeline Marson, winemaker, Vinea Marson; and Nick Lee, Gradi Group Sommelier.
“I was expecting burnt, black forest cake and over extracted shiraz knock offs. I didn’t get that at all,” said Campbell. “What I got was a completely different storyline… Nero d’Avola is a variety on the rise!
“It’s really evident today that there was clearly two styles – there’s that kind of fragrant light to medium body almost grenache-like, food friendly, drinkable style, and then you’ve got this kind of densely coloured fleshy, distinctively weighted – reminiscent of Australian shiraz – bold style.
“I was expecting burnt, black forest cake and over extracted shiraz knock offs. I didn’t get that at all. What I got was a completely different storyline… Nero d’Avola is a variety on the rise!
“The best wines were fresh and crunchy with refreshing acids and loads of ageing potential,” continued Campbell. “Some were looking like grenache wines, while some wines at the bigger end were black and spicy with a different energy altogether. There is a place for both styles to live. Overall, I found myself asking: ‘Are they savoury or not? Can these wines age? Will these wine go with food?’ These wines were asking lots of questions of me – and moreover, will do so for the consumer too…”
Scarcebrook added: “I was really surprised at how a majority of the wines achieved that level of freshness and brightness. Those that were going for a fuller style of – a bolder, darker fruit style – though they clearly have appeal to a more classic Aussie red palette, similarly had freshness to them as well. So, what I was seeing is that they’re really identifying how good acidity contributes freshness regardless of whether you go for a lighter or a fuller style, and I was really pleased to see that the general quality – by and large, I think that they were all very good wines.”
“I was really impressed with how the winemakers have used the acid to define the drinking style,” agreed Campbell. “As a sommelier, myself included, I think that’s all important – to match it with any type of protein.”
“I think we’ve seen today that nero is incredibly versatile. It can be made in many, many different ways,” said Meikle-Briggs, while referencing food pairing options, and suitability to customer palates . “You can definitely surprise people with it.”
“I was struck by the diversity too,” replied Marson. “I think the quality was very, very good.” Marson then segued on to the connection with local winegrowing and Mother Nature. “I did wonder a little bit about the nuance of changing your winemaking according to the seasonality: we’ve just come from three pretty wet vintages, with challenges in the vineyard to get high quality fruit and to get concentration and power.
“I know I err on the side of one particular style – as a drinker and a winemaker – of the two that we’ve identified, and I feel that with some that greenness and that herbaceous was a little bit too apparent. But then there were also – and probably the majority of examples of that fresher, youthful style – with a little bit of ‘carbonic’, or maybe more prominently ‘whole-bunch’, were handled quite well with respect to the region and the season more than I have perhaps thought would happen… because I sometimes see that disconnect between beautiful vibrancy and enticing aroma on the nose and then a lack of structure and concentration and power coming through – and I think there was some really good examples that carried through on the palette really well. So yeah, it changed my mind a little bit!”
“I was really, really surprised in a good way just how much fresher nero d’avola is now than how I remember it when I was on the floor somm’ing – which is going back over five years now – and I really do remember it as being a richer, darker.”
Lange recalled her professional background in Europe, working with nero d’avole as a sommelier. “The variety of expression was really what struck me,” she said. “I think it’s because Australian winemakers, in general, are not really constrained so much as old-world makers. It was just great to see one grape express itself so differently”
“I agree with you,” replied Gerco. “What surprises me… Tou find in Sicily – those main nero producers that everyone looks up to, they set the benchmark where if wines don’t taste like ‘that’, if they’re not really similar to ‘that’, they just get overlooked. These wines today are not an emulation of Italian. It’s such a multitude of flavours and tastes – I didn’t know that you could have so many different expressions of the same grape. Even in hospitality in Itality – it’s probably different now to when I left 10 years ago – it’s pretty narrow minded. You know… European wines: Italians: we think we do it best; French, they think they do it best; Greeks, they think they do it best. We always clash with wine, cheese, coffee, olive oil. And come to Australia, you’re open to such diversity and good winemaking – it’s amazing!”
Lee described the flavour markers he was seeing in the lineup of wines, and the suitability for food paring in the restaurant setting. “I’ve never actually seen this many nero d’avolas in one go,” he declared. “100% – I think nero d’avola is one of the most food-friendly wines that you can get: pizza, pasta, anything red sauce… hell, burger and chips! The versatility is great!
“There were some common aspects amongst groups of the wines that I thought stood out to me as wines that I would recommend over the others,” he continued. “These common attributes being the aromatics were leaning towards the sweet, dark fruited, herbaceous, black cherry, plum, blossom like aromas. The aromatics were balanced, sometimes soft and subtle and not too in your face and each had distinct aromas of Amaro like characteristics. The palates had a great balance of vibrancy, red fruit acidity and oak. Mostly red cherry, pomegranate and blood orange in the red fruit spectrum and black cherry, plum and blackcurrant for the dark fruit spectrum.”
“Even in hospitality in Itality – it’s probably different now to when I left 10 years ago – it’s pretty narrow minded. You know… European wines: Italians: we think we do it best; French, they think they do it best; Greeks, they think they do it best. We always clash with wine, cheese, coffee, olive oil. And come to Australia, you’re open to such diversity and good winemaking – it’s amazing!”
“I was really, really surprised in a good way just how much fresher nero d’avola is now than how I remember it when I was on the floor somm’ing – which is going back over five years now – and I really do remember it as being a richer, darker,” said Baker. “While the fruit spectrum seen today was mostly still in the blackberry style, I remember it being so intensely black that it was almost like having bitumen and earth, and low acidity, whereas today there was great lines of acid drive in a lot of the wines.”
Baker commented on the winemaking: “I’m not I’m not quite sure how much oak gets used in a lot of these wines, but there was definitely some that were almost coconut-like, and a lot of vanilla thrown at them, but then the majority had a much lighter touch – more kind of kind of that five-spice, baking, sweetness to them which complemented and made balance in the wine, which I find quite appealing.”
“...So yeah, it changed my mind!”
“I think that’s in part a reaction to the market trends and winemakers pulling back on big wines and oak generally,” added Scarcebrook.
“But still, it’s a variety that does respond well to the use of some oak to it – it can help soften some of the tannins and integrate them with wine as such,” replied Baker. “But it just seemed to all be done with a kind of a lighter touch where kind of let the fruit… you know, you’re still looking at black berry, but it wasn’t black and chewy, it wasn’t cassis, there was brightness overall.”
Campbell concluded: “Australians are expecting that shiraz style of nero d’avola – that is the perception of nero – but today taught us something different.”
Luke Campbell, born and raised in the Hunter Valley, Luke’s formal qualifications come from WSET, he is certified by the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI) and has completed the Advanced Wine Assessment Course (AWAC) at The University of Adelaide. Campbell launched Vinified Wine Services, a cellar management business tailored to the private collector.
Iona Baker is a key account manager for leading Italian wine importer Trembath & Taylor. She is an WSET Diploma holder and has worked for lengthy stints as sommelier at both St Kilda’s Stokehouse and for the Grossi Restaurant Group.
James Scarcebrook graduated from The University of Adelaide as a Master of Wine Business before a 16-month global wine adventure saw him visit ten wine-producing countries, including working two vintages in Germany. Scarecebrook has worked in fine-wine retail, as a representative for two leading importers, both with a focus on Italian wines, and now makes wine full-time under his Vino Intrepido label. That label is centred on Italian varieties and a quest for finding Victorian sites where they excel, teased out in a way that reflects on Italian tradition but seen through a new lens.
Katarina Lang is the Head Sommelier at the Botanical Hotel, where she has been curating the wine list for over four years. Her journey into the world of wine began after completing a working holiday visa in Australia in 2013, which led her to Italy to manage a small Azienda Agricola with 3.5 hectares of vineyards. There, she immersed herself in every aspect of viticulture and winemaking. Returning to Melbourne in late 2017, Katarina combined her hands-on vineyard experience with formal education, completing WSET Level 2 and becoming CMS Certified. She initially took on a managerial role with the Grossi Group before moving to the Botanical Hotel. Her passion lies in the complexity and diversity of wine, driven by an insatiable curiosity and a dedication to helping guests discover the perfect wine for any occasion.
Madeleine Marson joined the family business as winemaker at Vinea Marson and is presently completing her Bachelor of Wine Science at Charles Sturt University. In 2023, she completed two research trips in Italy, focusing on climate change in Chianti and Montalcino, as well as completing harvest with Paolo de Marchi at Isole e Olena. Her wine passions include Italian varieties in a changing climate and finding collaborative solutions to problems, such as the Heathcote Winegrowers project ‘Turning Green Waste into Wine’ funded by Sustainability Victoria, which has been a key part of her work over the past two years.
Nick Lee has been a Certified Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers since 2010. He has served as the Gradi Group Sommelier since 2014, overseeing the wine program across all their restaurants. Before this role, Nick was part of the opening team at Rosetta Melbourne under the Rockpool Group, where he worked as a Sommelier from 2012 to 2014.
Isabella Greco hails from Florence, Italy. While studying law, she worked at several restaurants in Italy, eventually succumbing to the irresistible allure of wine. Arriving in Australia in December 2014 for a six-month working holiday, her stay extended to ten years – and counting – after securing a job at the idyllic Stefano’s Restaurant in Mildura. There, she served as the restaurant manager and wine director for almost nine years, counting the legendary Stefano de Pieri as a mentor. Isabella has recently moved to Melbourne to embark on her next journey in wine hospitality.
Alex Meikle-Briggs is the Head Sommelier for Grossi Restaurants. Originally from the UK, he moved to Australia in 2020. A certified sommelier with a passion for Italian wine, Alex has completed the Barolo/Barbaresco Academy Langhe Wine School. His love for Italian wine is showcased at Grossi, where he has curated the first restaurant wine list in Oceania to dedicate a full A4 page to the lesser-known Timorasso, an indigenous Italian grape.
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In this fourth instalment of a seven-part series produced in collaboration with Vintage Cellars – 70 years of supporting wine in Australia – we look at Australian wine in the 1980s, the vine pull scheme, the rise of small winemakers, the start of the chardonnay boom, and the cool climate regions that started to find their feet.
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