Planeta Planeta Santa Cecilia 2022 750ml

The Planeta 2021 Sicilia Noto Santa Cecilia (now a certified organic wine) is 100% Nero d'Avola that is aged in French oak for 14 months. Some 15% is new oak and the remaining percentages are equal parts second-year, third-year and fourth-year barrel. This wine achieves beautiful balance with bright fruit tones of dark cherry and blackcurrant over a medium but silky finish. Those easy primary notes cede to soft spice, toasted almond and grilled aniseed. Fruit comes from low-elevation vineyards (at 35 to 40 meters just above the wave line) with limestone marl and lots of light-colored stones. This is a release of 27,500 bottles.

The 2021 Santa Cecilia opens with a mentholated freshness, dusty and floral, with a whiff of dried violets, black raspberries and sage. It washes across the palate, silky and serene, with cool-toned red and black fruits motivated by hints of sour citrus. A bump of zesty acidity keeps the mouth watering as the 2021 tapers off with a tinge of edgy tannins and a pleasantly bitter crunch.<br/><br/>

The 2021 Santa Cecilia opens with a mentholated freshness, dusty and floral, with a whiff of dried violets, black raspberries and sage. It washes across the palate, silky and serene, with cool-toned red and black fruits motivated by hints of sour citrus. A bump of zesty acidity keeps the mouth watering as the 2021 tapers off with a tinge of edgy tannins and a pleasantly bitter crunch.

The 2022 Nero d'Avola Santa Cecilia opens with wildly exotic aromatics. Crushed blood orange combines with confectioner's spices, rum-soaked cherries and dark chocolate. The palate is round and energetic, with tart wild berry fruit and citrus tones elevated by a core of zesty acidity. Grippy and full of tension, the 2022 tapers off long and gently structured with a pleasantly chewy concentration.

Bright acidity creates a vivacious frame for a ripe, dark mix of black cherry, mulberry and black plum fruit in this graceful, medium-bodied red. Offering fragrant hints of balsamico herbs, dark chocolate and smoked paprika, this is silky in texture, with good length through the mineral-driven finish. Drink now through 2031. 2,420 cases made, 150 cases imported.