It’s an honour to be there. Assuli rightfully enters Ian D’Agata’s Best Buys in Italian Wine of 2021 – Terroir Sense with Furioso 2018 (91 points), and Donna Angelica 2018 (90 points), thus recognizing the high quality of these wines, an authentic expression of the DOC Sicily
Furioso 2018
Perricone, an autochthonous Sicilian considered a real relic grape variety, vinified in purity, intense and deep, with a strong personality. On the nose it is beguiling with its impeccable nuances of black mulberry, cherry, liquorice and caper, on the palate it is juicy, with a formidable drinkability, seductive and soft.
https://www.assuli.it/en/prodotti/furioso-en/
Donna Angelica 2018
Lucido, autochthonous Sicilian vinified in purity, convinces everyone for the extraordinary quality revealing its finesse, elegance and body. A fresh white with an achieved harmony of salinity and minerality, it offers an amply fruity bouquet with floral, apricot and white pulp fruit hints.
https://www.assuli.it/en/prodotti/donna-angelica-en/
Ian Domenico D’Agata is considered one of the leading experts on Italian wine, as well as wines from Alsace, Bordeaux and Canada. He has been writing and talking about wine for more than 25 years. An author of highly successful publications, his most recent literary work “Native Wine Grapes of Italy” (University of California Press) won the prestigious 2015 Louis Roederer International Wine Awards Book of the Year, never before won by any Italian. A book that was also in the NY Times, Financial Times and LA Times Top 10 Wine Books of the Year. In addition to being awarded in 2012 as the best wine journalist in Italy, by the Grandi Cru d’Italia Committee, confirming his international standing, in 2016 Ian was nominated in France as one of the eight most important wine writers in the world by Les Plumes d’Or, the prize awarded in Paris in France and promoted by the most famous wine producers in France and by the association “Chefs des Grandes Tables du Monde” (170 restaurants from 24 countries). Canada has awarded Ian several awards for his work in promoting and disseminating quality wine, and he was awarded the Cuvée Award of Excellence in 2017 and the VQA Promoter Award – Out of Ontario category in 2018. Furthermore, Ian D’Agata has taught history of Italian food and wine culture for the master’s degree course in “Food Sciences” at New York University, and wine marketing at various Italian universities. Lastly, he is a lecturer who is invited all over the world to speak not only about autochthonous grape varieties, but also about the relationship between wine and health. He is actively involved in the recovery and rescue of ancient, practically extinct native vines with the aim of making them vinified again.
The Assuli Winery celebrates the authenticity of Sicily with 100% organic autochthonous wines
The vineyards and the cellars are located in the westernmost part of the island, almost 130 wholly-owned hectares, in an area of magical beauty. The bunches that ripen in a dedicated area of ancient wine production celebrate the authenticity of the Sicilian terroir. Assuli boasts the “Sicily” Controlled Designation of Origin, reserved for wines that meet the conditions and requirements established in the relative production regulations. The sun, the light, the strong minerality of the land, the scents of the Mediterranean carried by the wind differentiate bottles with a great personality. The wines are characterized by a style marked by winemaker Lorenzo Landi who believes in respect for the territory, focuses on the excellence of the grapes, enhancing the expressive power of the vines and manages to produce impeccable wines by enhancing the territorial originality: delicate, fresh or savoury whites reminiscent of the sea, reds with a stronger and more decisive character, influenced by heat and wind. Under the impetus of the new sensitivity for environmental impact, Assuli has also embarked on a path of integration of the considerations useful for implementing sustainability.
Furthermore, attention to the land and respect for it is also expressed in the oenological research project of the experimental vineyard, created with the aim of rediscovering ancient vines that we will soon be able to savour. 14 relic varieties, about 600 grafts placed in as many plants: the desire to dig into the past and bring to light forgotten varieties, an element of even stronger identity that lays the foundations for a new push for wine tourism.
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Link to the guide Ian D’Agata’s Best Buys in Italian Wine of 2021 – Terroir Sense
