Pithos Rosso Cos Giusto Occhipinti 2015/16

Cos Pithos Rosso, biodynamic, Frappato and Nero d Avola, Amphorae ferment, floral, soft, elegant. Pithos Rosso Cos has a stunning nose of violets and raspberry blossom. The mouth is floral, warm and supple, the berry fruit flavours are complemented by soft tannins. The palate is sweet and round, suggestive of raspberries and succulent cherries with the tannins so integrated into the wine, they are barely evident. Some believe finesse in the flatter areas of Sicily is not possible with fine wine being reserved for the slopes of Etna. But Cos have always managed to produce wines that defy the hot climate and show that natural production always leads to freshness and drinkability.

COS was started by Giusto Occhipinti with two classmates back in the early 1980s. On a shoestring budget, the three friends vinified the grapes from their parents' vineyards. After experimenting with toasty oak and big flavours from over-ripe Nero d'Avola, they quickly realised that it wasn't the direction they wanted to go in. They then took a step back and started favouring concrete and amphorae. Their winemaking too changed, from modernism to non-interventionist wine making. Now they are well established as one of Sicily's leading exponents of biodynamic production and make wines of freshness and aromatic expression. COS does not use selected yeasts and has never used chemicals in the vineyards.