Bonavita 2017 Rosso, Faro DOC

Bonavita 2017 Rosso, Faro DOC

Item Number: 15308

UPC: None

Country: Italy
Region: Sicily
Sub Region: Messina
Appellation/AVA: Faro DOC
Estate Grown Wine: Yes
Vintage: 2017
Grape(s): 60% Nerello Mascalese / 30% Nerello Cappuccio / 10% Nocera
Type: Wine - Red
Bottle Size: 750 ml
Pack: 12
Closure: Cork
Alc by Vol(%): 14
Viticulture: Practicing Organic
Soil Type: Medium mixture characterized by layers of clay and tuff calcrete (sandy limestone)
Elevation: 820-1,000 feet asl
Case Production: 580

Vine Age: 10 to 80 years; the oldest vines are planted in alberello style, the younger are trained in espalier system.

Winemaking Notes: No sulfur or other additions were added before fermentation, which occurred spontaneously with native yeast. Maceration on the skins was long, around 20+ days, in stainless steel. The wine aged for 24 months in large 3,000-liter oak barrels and 10 months in bottle. Please note that Giovanni Scarfone is constantly buying new barrels and vessels for his Faro DOC bottling to play with the wine's texture and structure. It is not produced the same way each vintage, and the large oak barrels are rather new to his process.

Tasting Notes: Nerello Mascalese is very tannic and light in color with good acidity; its aromas are spicy and balsamic. It is the variety best suited to aging. Nerello Cappuccio is important in the blend because it is rich in color and sugar with perfumes of ripe fruit. Nocera is an indigenous grape variety cultivated only around Messina with little sugar and pale color but rich in acidity and therefore very important in giving freshness to the wine.

96pts (2016 Vintage) Vinous 8/6/2019
"Utterly pure and drop-dead gorgeous on the nose, with floral and mineral-tinged aromas and flavors of strawberry, raspberry, rose and violet, complicated by notes of blood orange and subtle baking spices. A restrained, beautiful wine, with freshness and cut to the long, penetrating, juicy, clean, mineral-laced finish."


Reviews

  • Vinous
    Rating: 92 (6/10/2021)

    The 2017 Faro is spicy and perfumed, the violet and rose tones giving way to peppery herbs, earthy minerals and musky black cherry. Its fleshy and enveloping textures are well balanced by zesty acids, as waves of tart wild berries and sour citrus wash across the palate, leaving a tactile mix of minerals and grippy tannins in their wake. This tapers off lightly structured and with a pretty inner sweetness, resonating on a vivid note of salted black licorice. In a word, spellbinding.
  • The Wine Advocate
    Rating: 93 (11/18/2021)

    Here's a wine that I highly recommend you seek before these 7,000 bottles are gone. The Bonavita 2017 Faro shows a very fun and vibrant bouquet with all kinds of small detailing and embroidery. Wild forest berry is interwoven with grilled rosemary, dried rose, licorice root and a savory touch of camphor ash or balsamic herb. In fact, those herbal and floral aromas appear with more intensity against a neutral background of dark plummy fruit. The blend is 60% Nerello Mascalese, 30% Nerello Cappuccio and 10% Nocera. You need to come up with a special food pairing for this wine, focusing on flavors that are a bit soft and sweet to contrast against the sharper qualities of this wine. A lamb tajine with stewed plums might do the trick.