2016 Palari Faro Palari

The owner of the prestigious Palari is Salvatore Geraci. Salvatore is a passionate winemaker who produces a limited number of bottles in Eastern Sicily. He has rediscovered the ancient Faro wine of the Sicilian tradition and is known as an iconic winemaker. His philosophy is to make wines of the highest quality that represent the essence of Sicily with the allure of Burgundy wines. Located in the smaller Faro DOC, Palari extends for about 7 hectares on the hills above the Strait of Messina. The Palari domain is the best known name within the miniscule DOC Faro, which contains only 21 hectares of vineyards spread over 17 domains in the northern tip of Sicily, near Messina. In 1985 Salvatore Geraci, owner of Azienda Agricola Palari, bought a number of vineyards, with the ambition to put the name of Faro on the list of great Italian wines. He was and still is the sourcer of this appellation. The domain extends over 6 hectares and also features 1.5 hectares in the DOC Faro. The rest falls under the new DOC Sicilia.

The vineyards are located high (600 meters above sea level) are stone terraces with steep slopes - the linear distance from the sea is 1.5 km. Terroir is seaside and the soil is mainly made of limestone with clay - the land is guided naturally from the beginning. The harvest is completely manual with a bizarrely low yield of less than 30 ql / ha.

The wines of Palari belong to the absolute top of Sicily. In all cases we work organically. The vines are planted separately (ie non-guided) on the very steep slopes. Yields are low and everything is done manually. Modern techniques and the very best French oak barrels are used in the cellar, although less new wood has been used in recent years to allow the fruit to speak as much as possible.

There is no rush at Palari and everything takes its time. The top models often remain on the domain for 5-6 years before they become available (in dribs and drabs) and without exception the wines can age very nicely.

The flagship, the Palari Faro, is a dark and savory wine with black fruit, smoke, tar and leather. The complex fresh nose smells of forest fruits, cassis and a little toasted wood. This wine has a surprising and delicious intensity. The taste is very broad and seductive with a lot of freshness and rich in delicate fruit. The finish is dry and structured with (firm) tannins and good acidity, so this wine will certainly give this wine about 6 years to mature and the tannins will loosen the longer the bottle is stored. Wonderful balance and nice aftertaste.

The authentic and use of many autochthonous grapes including Nerello Mascalese 65%, Nerello Cappuccio 15%, Nocera 15% + Acitana, Galatena, Jacché, Cor'e palumba 5% grapes The wine is fermented with its own yeasts and has matured for 24 years in French new oak (Tronçais and Allier) and then remains in the impressive cellar (in a cave) for at least 24 months before the bottles are released. The wines are not further filtered and stabilized.

The wines receive unanimously high reviews. Just a selection from the review:

Robert Parker. Rating: 94 (2013) by Monica Larner

Salvatore Geraci is a towering figure in one of Italy's lesser-known appellations. Faro represents the northern tip of the triangular island of Sicily, near Messina. The 2013 Faro Palari is a dark and savory wine with black fruit, smoke, tar and camphor ash. This vintage shows surprising and delightful intensity. The finish is dry and structured with tannins that remain firmly knit for now. These will loosen with more bottle-aging time. I love the authentic character you get here. The crazy blend of grapes used here is Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio and Nocera in the leading roles. Smaller parts of Acitana, Galatena, Jacché and Core 'e Palumba grapes are also thrown into the blend.

Wine Enthusiast. Rating: 96 (2013) by Kerin O'Keefe

Intensely fragrant, this has aromas of underbrush, Mediterranean scrub, woodland berry, carob and exotic incense. The palate is all about elegance and energy, delivering red currant, pomegranate, orange zest, star anise and French oak alongside polished fine-grained tannins before a saline close. It's already tempting but hold to let it fully integrate and develop even more complexity.

Robert Parker. Rating: 93 (2012)

Here is a wine that totally surprised me. The 2012 Faro Palari is enormously profound, elegant and finely etched. It is a wine that should be celebrated thanks to the myriad of small details it offers. First, the 2012 vintage shows a mineral side that is absolutely beautiful. The nose is sharp and focused with pencil shaving, brimstone and flint. As soon as those drying mineral notes lift, the bouquet warms up with fruit flavors: cherry, blackberry and dried raspberry. The bouquet continues to evolve with spice, leather and tobacco. This wine reaches an impressive level of complexity. Even though 2012 was not a classic vintage, the Faro appellation shows beautifully. In the mouth, the wine offers intensity, fleshy fruit flavors and bright acidity. The tannins are both soft and firm. This is a more immediate expression and I will give the wine a slightly shorter drinking window. This vintage will drink well in the long term but it will also show promising results in the medium term.

Robert Parker. Rating: 91 (2011)

The 2011 Faro Palari is a tight, nervous and youthful wine. It needs more time to soften and age in the bottle. The nose is a bit edgy, with sour cherry aromas, wild berry, moist earth, white truffle, licorice and tar. The tannins also feel more pronounced in this very warm vintage. That extra astringency should relax with more bottle aging. This is a wine that really gets between your teeth. Its brightness, acidity and intensity would make a good pairing partner to heavy beef stews or game meat. The wine shows dimension and tension, with muscle and power on the finish. I thought it was just slightly less complex than the 2010 vintage that precedes it.

Robert Parker. Rating: 93 (2010)

From a very good vintage in Sicilian winemaking, the 2010 Faro Palari is an elegant and classic expression. This wine is more floral than the other vintages I've tasted and it shows more exotic flavors of Indian spice, cardamom and lightly crushed clove. There's a slightly soapy aroma of lavender flower or rose potpourri. The wine most definitely underlines Salvatore Geraci trademark signature. It's of light lines and deep finesse with delicate berry aromas that are intertwined with spice, dried flowers and licorice. 2010 vintage tastes very young to me, and should probably age another year or two in the bottle before you pop the cork. The bouquet is still a bit shut down. But the intensity and the inner harmony of the wine bode well for its future aging potential.

Robert Parker. Rating: 93/95 (2010)

Not released yet, the 2010 Faro Palari opens to a light garnet color and shows Burgundian aromas of small berry, moist earth and wild mushroom. Crushed flowers and rose petals also appear. Nerello Mascalese is known for the harshness of its tannins, but they have been well-managed in this expression appearing polished and smooth across the board. In fact, the tannin management in 2010 is excellent and this wine is slightly softer than previous editions.

Robert Parker. Rating: 91/93 (2009)

With fruit harvested at the end of September or the beginning of October, the 2009 Faro Palari is firm and static with solid aromas of dried raspberry, iron, wet earthy and anisette seed that rise from the glass. This edition of Faro Palari seems to take longer to evolve in the glass, boding well for its future evolution. The 2009 vintage is broad and brawny with a masculine personality.

Robert Parker. Rating: 94 (2008)

The 2008 vintage in the Straits of Messina is similar to 2005 in terms of its mild climate and balanced weather. A good amount of rain and cool night temperatures during harvest set the conditions for bright aromatic intensity. This wine shows a beautiful quality of fruit with small red berries and a solid dose of ripe peach. Balsam herbs and dried rosemary appear on the fringe. As the wine evolves in the glass, it begins to show more leather and black licorice. One of the most noticeable aspects of this wine is its balanced acidity.

Robert Parker. Rating: 96 (2007)

The 2007 Faro Palari shows a little more heat intensity compared to recent vintages and appears to be entering its drinking window. The 2007 vintage saw a rain-soaked spring and vigorous growth throughout the growing season. The bouquet offers resinous aromas of tar and pine nut with pretty background notes of black licorice and dusty mineral. The quality of the tannin is silky and long. This is one of my favorite editions of the wine thanks to its profound complexity and slightly denser consistency.

Robert Parker. Rating: 97 (1999)

The standout wine in this vertical tasting, the 1999 Faro Palari is simply divine and drinking beautifully right now. It shows enormous freshness with a particularly vibrant and bright quality of fruit followed by defined nuances of balsamic herb, dried mint, crushed mineral or chalk, ginger, black pepper and black currant. The acidity is perfectly balanced against the soft, elegant nature of the mature tannins. The wine is yielding and polished and painted a beautiful portrait of the aging potential of the Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio and Nocera grapes.