We might as well say it as it is: Ammasso is an exceptionally successful Sicilian red wine with the very best ripasso wines as a model, but here mainly made with local grapes. Absolutely every consideration has been taken to ensure the optimal quality in this ambitious red wine from south-western Sicily.
For Ammasso, Barone Montalto at Santa Ninfa sources the grapes from high-lying fields with associated low yields, which are picked directly into diminutive 5 kilo boxes, so that every single grape reaches the winery intact. This is particularly important for the proportion of the grapes that undergo drying/appassimento, so that rot in the grape material is avoided. The grapes are mainly Sicilian nero d’avola and nerello mascalese, with the addition of merlot and cabernet sauvignon.
The majority of the grapes undergo normal vinification, while a smaller proportion first spend 4 weeks in a well-ventilated warehouse, where 15-20% of the water content evaporates, while the relative extract and sugar content increases. This provides a ‘vitamin supplement’ to the wine, so that it appears strong and full-bodied, and at the same time, in the wine’s aroma profile, you can sense the enzymatic processes that occur through drying. The various components of the wine spend 8-10 months in French barriques before the final blend.
Aroma and taste are generous and welcoming with a wonderful combination of power and elegance, the latter often being in short supply when we are talking about appassimento wines. Prunes, wild berries and licorice are dominant elements, while there are also dried flowers and cedar that contribute good complexity. This is a full-bodied, powerful wine but without marked tannins, so the taste experience is nevertheless easily digestible.
Enjoy Ammasso for simple, robust meat dishes with a wine-based sauce or barbecue marinade when the waves are high.
Enjoy below room temperature at 15-18° now and for the next 5 years.
