* Mislabeled Rosato as Rosso in images. Rosso was compared and poured from magnum bottle. So was Rosato but wasn’t going to compare here (that was compared with Lamoresca Rosato 2018).
Notes:
Temperature checked both bottles. Chilled to 10 celsius and opened reaching a room temperature of 20 celsius in stem on last glasses. Drank bottles over two hours (shared). Drinking occured with charcuterie but cleansed palate to taste. Notes collating my own impressions and another taster.
Susucaru Rosso 2020: Reductive. Needs some air to open up and bloom and would suggest letting it settle into itself. Slight egg smell upon opening and a pungent meatiness that slowly blows off and develops into notes of ash and smoke. Red-berry forward notes on the nose, featuring unripened strawberries and fresh bordering into the sweetness of candied cherries. Light wine but acidity present. Easy drinking. Unfortunately, I would not say this vintage was as nuanced or appealing as previous years for me. There was not the tomato foliage and rose petal nose I associate with Susucaru Rosso (Rosato expression tends to show these elements more palpably).
Contadino 2016 (OG Susu): This wine turned up the profile of the Suscaru 2020 but retained a pleasant gamey character with well-developed and wild red-berry flavours and almost blackcurrant notes. Prosciutto, rose petals, tomato foliage on the nose. This is what I expect and enjoy. Slightly tannic and with some acidic bite. This wine is still drinking well and was stored correctly. I thoroughly enjoyed this wine. It was more lively and wild than any recent Susucaru offering I have tasted. The lack of fining, higher alcohol, and fewer additions allowed this wine to showcase more interesting tertiary notes.
Overall, I suggest anyone holding onto Contadino 2016 to drink it sooner rather than later. It is a well developed wine, with fruitiness still intact. However, it could be perceived as being overtaken by the tertiary profile for some drinkers. Other taster expressed the same opinion of this wine, “Although beautiful and enjoyable, the gamey character could be overwhelming for some drinkers.” With that said, they preferred the Contadino 2016. We also want to point out that there are cheaper offerings of natural Sicilian wines that will blow Cornelissen out of the water in a price to quality analysis. Lamoresca and COS come to mind.
[deleted]
Love it, thanks for the notes.
TheSoccerFiles
Lamoresca Frappato is a fave!
judeeeez
Susucaru Rosato is different from Susucaru Rosso aka Contadino. So you can’t really compare.
Fatboyo
I appreciate the honest review. Especially the comparison with COS, one of my favourite producers. I don’t see Lamoresca available too commonly, I’ll have to look out for it. Still, I’ll have to try Cornellisen one day, but your review has given me some good direction which to try.
Vagimas
Oh man, great review!!! I think your assessment of the meaty and floral components of Contadino is spot on, and those exact elements are those which held up the backbone and true character of the wine.
I’ve been disappointed in the newer Cornelissen releases, which is a shame because I’ve been a huge fan in years past. I’m about to go to RAW Wine Berlin today and Cornelissen will be in attendance, so I’m hoping to (respectfully) pursue a bit of a dialogue with him regarding the difference between his old style and new style.
Cheers to your review!
IAmHeliosCR
Are those Gabriel glasses?
Lazy_Internet2289
Question for all these susu connoisseurs! I opened a bottle last night and only drank half. How long can these bottles last corked in the fridge?
9 Comments
How was it?
* Mislabeled Rosato as Rosso in images. Rosso was compared and poured from magnum bottle. So was Rosato but wasn’t going to compare here (that was compared with Lamoresca Rosato 2018).
Notes:
Temperature checked both bottles. Chilled to 10 celsius and opened reaching a room temperature of 20 celsius in stem on last glasses. Drank bottles over two hours (shared). Drinking occured with charcuterie but cleansed palate to taste. Notes collating my own impressions and another taster.
Susucaru Rosso 2020: Reductive. Needs some air to open up and bloom and would suggest letting it settle into itself. Slight egg smell upon opening and a pungent meatiness that slowly blows off and develops into notes of ash and smoke. Red-berry forward notes on the nose, featuring unripened strawberries and fresh bordering into the sweetness of candied cherries. Light wine but acidity present. Easy drinking. Unfortunately, I would not say this vintage was as nuanced or appealing as previous years for me. There was not the tomato foliage and rose petal nose I associate with Susucaru Rosso (Rosato expression tends to show these elements more palpably).
Contadino 2016 (OG Susu): This wine turned up the profile of the Suscaru 2020 but retained a pleasant gamey character with well-developed and wild red-berry flavours and almost blackcurrant notes. Prosciutto, rose petals, tomato foliage on the nose. This is what I expect and enjoy. Slightly tannic and with some acidic bite. This wine is still drinking well and was stored correctly. I thoroughly enjoyed this wine. It was more lively and wild than any recent Susucaru offering I have tasted. The lack of fining, higher alcohol, and fewer additions allowed this wine to showcase more interesting tertiary notes.
Overall, I suggest anyone holding onto Contadino 2016 to drink it sooner rather than later. It is a well developed wine, with fruitiness still intact. However, it could be perceived as being overtaken by the tertiary profile for some drinkers. Other taster expressed the same opinion of this wine, “Although beautiful and enjoyable, the gamey character could be overwhelming for some drinkers.” With that said, they preferred the Contadino 2016. We also want to point out that there are cheaper offerings of natural Sicilian wines that will blow Cornelissen out of the water in a price to quality analysis. Lamoresca and COS come to mind.
Love it, thanks for the notes.
Lamoresca Frappato is a fave!
Susucaru Rosato is different from Susucaru Rosso aka Contadino. So you can’t really compare.
I appreciate the honest review. Especially the comparison with COS, one of my favourite producers. I don’t see Lamoresca available too commonly, I’ll have to look out for it. Still, I’ll have to try Cornellisen one day, but your review has given me some good direction which to try.
Oh man, great review!!! I think your assessment of the meaty and floral components of Contadino is spot on, and those exact elements are those which held up the backbone and true character of the wine.
I’ve been disappointed in the newer Cornelissen releases, which is a shame because I’ve been a huge fan in years past. I’m about to go to RAW Wine Berlin today and Cornelissen will be in attendance, so I’m hoping to (respectfully) pursue a bit of a dialogue with him regarding the difference between his old style and new style.
Cheers to your review!
Are those Gabriel glasses?
Question for all these susu connoisseurs! I opened a bottle last night and only drank half. How long can these bottles last corked in the fridge?