After trying Arianna Occhipinti’s ”Il Frappato" I went out and purchased three wines by COS. All three are very well made wines. They are easy to drink and low in alcohol (12% – 13%). The Frappato is a really good wine but if you can only try one then grab the Pithos. It is great stuff!
2009 COS, Frappato, Sicily
This wine is a blend of 100% Frappato. It comes from south-east facing vineyards at 250 meters. The soils are sand mixed with fresh clay and calcareous tufa. The vines average six years of age. It is fermented in temperature controlled concrete tanks then aged for 12 months. There were 33,000 bottles produced. This has a light Frappato nose of ample, fresh, raspberries and red berries with floral tones. In the mouth there is red, dusty fruit that is a bit juicy. The pure, tart, red fruit takes on cranberry and dusty characteristics. There is a short finish, some acidity, and more raspberries in the aftertaste.
2007 COS, Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico DOCG, Sicily
This wine is a blend of 40% Frappato and 60% Nero d’Avola. It comes from south-east facing vineyards at 250 meters. The soils are sand mixed with fresh clay and calcareous tufa. The vines average 18 years of age. It is fermented in temperature controlled concrete tanks then aged for 18-24 months in barrique. There were 80,000 bottles produced. This wine is a shade darker than the Pithos but is still a very light, translucent ruby color. It has a light nose of dusty red fruit. In the mouth there are light amounts of dark cherry flavors, steely red acidity, and bright, dusty herbs. It builds up to a sharp crescendo as a relatively dark, red core develops. There is decent length to the finish and a dusty, herbed aftertaste. After several hours the fruit becomes a bit sweeter, some blue fruits develop, and the overall profile of the wine shortens.
2009 COS, Pithos, SicilyThis wine is a blend of 40% Frappato and 60% Nero d’Avola. It comes from vineyards at 230 meters. The soils are sand mixed with limestone, silicious, layers of clay, and tufa. The vines average 22 years of age. It is fermented in terracotta amphora of 250 and 400 liter capacities. The fermentation is allowed to take its own course so there is no temperature control and it typically lasts for seven months. There were 25,000 bottles produced. This is a very, very light, translucent cranberry color. It has a light nose but it is far more complex and interesting than the Cerasuolo. It is very nose driven. In the mouth there are tart, lighter red flavors of good complexity that are hard to describe. There are some light tannins that are completely different from wines age in barrel or stainless steel.
Enjoy,
Aaron