Like avoiding white attire, the notion of abandoning rosé after Labor Day is antiquated, to put it politely. If you must be convinced, we present a very different rosé: Susucaru 6 is floral, herbal, fruit-forward, toothsome, full-bodied, and as dry as they come.
Frank Cornilessen began making wine in Sicily in 2001, and he is leading the charge in natural winemaking; avoiding “all possible intervention to the lands we cultivate, including any treatments, whether chemical, organic or biodynamic, as these are all a mere reflection of the inability of man to accept nature as she is and will be,” according to his website.
He doesn’t irrigate his vineyards, nor does he add compost, herbicide or anything else, save for a cover crop of buckwheat and wildflowers. He ferments with only indigenous yeast. Perhaps most radically, no sulfur is added to the wines. He sterilizes his facility with ozone and uses sterilized synthetic corks on most bottlings.
Although he focuses on growing Nerello Mascalese grapes, he produces a limited bottling of rosé he calls Susucaru, which roughly translates to “They swallowed it,” or “They stole it,” which, as the story goes is what vineyard workers cried out when they saw all the grapes were stolen on the morning of the first harvest.
Although the grapes come from a single year’s harvest, they are not vintage-dated, but instead are numbered by production. The wine is made from a blend of red and white grapes including chardonnay, Cattaratto, Nerello Mascalese and more, and the result is otherworldly. Susucaru is for the adventurous; because it’s bottled without sulfur, you can expect to drink a different wine each time you pop a bottle. Sometimes there may be sediment; at other times, you may experience a touch of fizz. It’s evolution in a glass and terroir at its most intriguing.
On the nose, there are notes of rose petal, sour cherry and cinnamon. The wine is full-bodied on the palate with rose, cherry, charcoal and rhubarb, along with notes of coriander and occasional hints of juicy strawberry and savory orange zest. It has a broad, majestic tannin and an earthy, herbal, spicy finish with medium to medium-plus acid.
Susucaru 6 pairs well with dishes like smoked paprika-dusted trout, heirloom tomato salad and hard Alpine cheeses. Buy a bottle at The Wine Merchant in Clayton or try it at Bar Italia, The Crossing, Acero, Olio and Five Bistro.
-photo courtesy of Wines; Tasted!
This article appears in September 2014.