£7 on offer (normally £9), Morrisons
This Sicilian red is new to the UK and a snip at the introductory price of £7 until 15 March. Even at £9 it's good value – dark, ripe and super-smooth with a tumble of black cherry, plum, kirsch and toasted vanilla flavours, gentle grip and a streak of Italianate agrodolce.
It's made from hand-picked Nero d'Avola grapes, a proportion of which are dried, some of them left on the vines to dry, others dried on racks for about 15 days to lose 10–15% of their weight.
The method, called appassimento, is more often associated with Valpolicella, but it's an ancient practice on Sicily and well-suited to the local Nero d'Avola variety, giving the wines greater richness and roundness when done well. The key is vinifying gently, not leaving too much residual sugar in the finished wine and not drowning it in oak flavours. Colpasso gets it right.
While it will find its match in many a meaty ragù, roast, stew and spicy sausage, Colpasso Appassimento also goes well with caramelised roast vegetables – roots, Mediterranean and shallots – and with vegetarian black bean chilli, provided you go a bit easy on the chilli itself. 14%. Empty bottle weight: 513g
Colpasso Appassimento Nero d'Avola 2020, DOC Sicilia, Italy
£7 until 15 March, then £9, Morrisons