Costa Al Sole Nero D’Avola

Costa Al Sole Nero D’Avola is an Italian dry red wine bottled in Tortona, Italy.  I had the pleasure of sharing this tasting with two close friends and they had a lot of great comments about this wine.  Specifically, we reviewed the Costa Al Sole Nero D’Avola 2013.

According to the bottle, this wine is Certified Organic.

This was my first time tasting and reviewing the Nero D’Avola varietal.  The Nero D’Avola grape is said to be indigenous to Italy and well known in Sicily.

Costa Al Sole Nero D’Avola Review

In the glass, this wine is burgundy in color.  It’s not quite red enough to be called ruby and also lacks any rust color you might find in other Italian red wines.  The three of us noted just a few slowly falling legs in our glasses.

Aroma of the Costa Al Sole Nero D’Avola was of dark fruits and tobacco.  There was a mild whiff of alcohol in the aroma that dissipated with air and time.  Alcohol content of Costa Al Sole Nero D’Avola 12.5% per the bottle.

The wine had an earthy and mild flavor.  One person noticed the taste of cooked beets and after giving the wine another sip, we all agreed that was the flavor we were trying to figure out.  We also noted that, although this wine is very drinkable and smooth, the flavors were not overwhelming on the palate.

We decided the wine had a cottony mouthfeel with delayed tannins that weren’t over developed or grippy.  One person described the tannins as “stem-ish” which made us wonder if the organic nature of this wine had any effect on the tannins.

Finish of the wine was medium to long.

Overall, 2 out of 3 of us really enjoyed this wine.  The other didn’t warm up to it at first, but felt it did improve quite a bit with air.  So, consider decanting this wine to give it a chance to breathe.  I personally liked the uniqueness of this wine.  It was different than anything I had tried previously, and I enjoy new wine experiences!

Finally, we paired this wine with Cheddar, Asiago and Pepper Jack cheeses.  The wine didn’t pair well with the Cheddar.  It just washed out the flavor.  However, the Asiago and Pepper Jack brought out the wine’s fruit and brightness.  We said it “fruited it up!”

Costa Al Sole Nero D’Avola price about $10.00 – $12.00 depending on vintage.

So, if you’re up for a unique Italian wine tasting experience, definitely give Costa Al Sole Nero D’Avola a try!