Drink with Certa #13: Palari's Rocca Coeli Etna Rosso Contrada Marchesa 2015 | Certa

Palari is one of the cult wineries in Sicily, which made its fame for reviving the tiny historic Faro DOC located in north-eastern corner of this Mediterranean island. Since the 1990 vintage, Palari has made Faro wines with a blend of local grapes, including Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio and Nocera. The wines are elegant and complex, which remind people of fine Burgundy reds. Then in 2014, Palari purchased 4 ha of vineyards on Mt. Etna with a view to produce Nerello Mascalese wines to express different terroir on this volcanic mountain. ⁣
⁣
Palari 是西西里的膜拜酒莊之一，該酒莊以重振位於此地中海島東北角，小規模但極具歷史地位的Faro DOC產區而馳名於世。自1990年起，Palari便以當地葡萄品種：Nerello Mascalese、Nerello Cappuccio 和 Nocera混合釀製Faro葡萄酒。這些酒優雅和複雜兼備，令人聯想起上等的布根底紅酒。該酒莊于2014年進軍埃特納火山，購置了4公頃的葡萄園，以打造能夠反映此火山風土的Nerello Mascalese葡萄酒為目標。

I was very excited to taste, for the first time, this single vineyard (the local term is “contrada”) Etna Rosso produced by Palari a couple of weeks ago.  Contrada Marchesa is one of the most famous contrade on the northern slope of Mr. Etna, which is regarded as the best area for producing Nerello Mascalese based red wines. The wine is fermented in stainless steel tanks and aged in large French oak casks (15 HL) for 2 years, plus another 2 years in bottle before release.⁣
⁣
筆者於幾周前初嘗此莊的這款單一園（當地稱為：contrada）埃特納紅葡萄酒, 心情十分興奮。Marchesa單一園是埃特納火山北坡上最知名的葡萄園之一，而北坡又是出產以Nerello Mascalese葡萄為主的紅葡萄酒的最佳產地。此酒於不銹鋼桶中發酵，並於法國大木桶（15千升）中陳釀2年，再于瓶中陳釀2年後，才推出市場。⁣

It shows beautiful deep ruby colour with a hint of garnet rim. The nose is enticing and complex with red and black berries, rose, earthy and smoke, cinnamon with a hint of mineral flinty note. On palate, it delivers medium plus body with great concentration of flavours of red and black cherries, cranberry, aromatic herbs, graphite and some mineral tension and those flavours linger for a long aftertaste. The tannins are fine and firm but not aggressive, in combination with the fresh and juicy acidity, the wine has the potential for further ageing although it has started entering into the drinking window. ⁣
⁣
此酒呈現漂亮的深紅寶石色，並略帶橙色鑲邊。其香氣複雜迷人，紅黑莓類、玫瑰花、泥土和煙熏味、肉桂以及一些燧石礦物味紛呈。入口，酒體中上，酒味集中，帶有紅黑櫻桃，小紅莓、芳香草本、石墨的味道和礦物帶來的緊致感，這些味道也構成其悠長的餘韻，回味無窮。此酒的單寧細膩硬朗，但不過分。雖然此酒已開始進入最佳適飲期，但其新鮮多汁的酸度配合上述單寧結構，仍賦予她進一步陳年的潛力。⁣

In terms of food and wine pairing, the wine will work fantastically with all kinds of food suitable for matching Burgundy or other Pinot Noir wines, such as waygu beef, lamb, game and pork dishes. I shared this great bottle with my Taiwanese friends, who prepared a fantastic Taiwan style Steamed Bun with Braised Pork Belly, which matched perfectly with the wine. Their home-made Taiwanese Braised Beef Noodle Soup is another surprise for this wine. This is, without doubt, a very impressive effort and may compete with fine examples from Burgundy reds, so you definitely don’t want to miss! ⁣
⁣
就餐酒搭配而言，此酒可以與適合搭配布根底或其他黑比諾葡萄酒的菜式有很好的配合效果，例如：和牛、羊肉、家禽和豬肉等菜肴。筆者與臺灣友人分享此酒，他們所烹製的臺式鹵肉刈包與此酒搭配非常精彩，而另一道自家臺式紅燒牛肉麵和此酒的互動也有些驚喜。這毫無疑問是一款力作，可與上好的布根底紅酒一爭長短，所以你千萬不要錯過哦！