Villa Tirrena Paolo E Noemia D'Amico Merlot, Shiraz 2016 ~ Lazio, Italy

91/100 James Suckling
Bronze - Falstaff
92/100 James Suckling (2015 vintage)
90/100 James Suckling (2014 vintage)
Bronze - Rober Parker, Wine Advocate (2014 vintage)

Silver - Concours Mondial de Bruxelles
Silver - Decanter World Wine Awards
Bronze - International Wine & Spirit Competition
Bronze - Decanter World Wine Awards (2015 vintage)
Silver - International Wine & Spirit Competition (2014 vintage)
Bronze - Decanter World Wine Awards (2014 vintage)

James Suckling "Intense aromas of black cherries and gingery spice follow through to a medium-to full- bodied palate with lots of juicy fruit. There’s some lemony freshness cutting through the medium-firm tannins and coloring the finish. Slightly candied aftertaste. Merlot and syrah."

Falstaff "Dark shining, rich ruby ​​red. Very spicy oak nose, with some time after cranberries, light malt, Amarena cherries and noble spice. On the palate with grippy, pithy tannins and juicy, creamy fruit, acidity is also present, spreads wide, earthy aftertaste with a drying finale."

Decanter World Wine Awards "Nose is a cocktail of spices, with aromatic herbs. Dark berry fruits on the palate, with hints of black olive."

International Wine & Spirit Competition "An attractive display of ripe black plum and cherry, alongside sweet vanilla and clove spice. "

James Suckling "There’s a strong herbal undercurrent here of undergrowth and brambles, but give this time to open in the glass and brambleberries and elderberries surface. Interplay between expressive fruit and edgy acidity on the palate creates pretty tension to send this home to a chewy, spicy finish." (2015 vintage)

James Suckling "he sweet redcurrants and ample smoke, combined with a generous body and slightly sappy tannins, make a bold statement. However, this isn’t overdone and the finish is only moderately dry. A blend of merlot and syrah." (2014 vintage)

Rober Parker, Wine Advocate "The 2014 Villa Tirrena is a pure expression of Merlot and is a little difficult to read in this vintage. Merlot excels when it can boast ripeness and softness, and unfortunately, this cool and rainy vintage makes it difficult to show its true self. What you get instead is a somewhat clamped-down and faded expression with dark fruit, spice and plum." (2014 vintage)

Decanter "Another exceptional vintage that highlights the character of the Valle dei Calanchi terroir. Ripe red fruits dominate the nose, lined by a spicy touch. Rich and round, with mouthcoating fine tannins, softened by ten months ageing in French oak."

Paolo and Noemia d’Amico’s winery is located in the Vaiano’s Valley, between the striking clay ravines that border with Lazio and Umbria. Committed to extracting the potentiality of this terroir, the winery was launched in the 1980 and quckly earned a reputation through its consistent award winnings. The vineyards are extended over the Umbria area.

These produce a pleasant and equilibrate D.O.C. Orvieto type of wine that was first developed and supplied to Pinturicchio as part of his remuneration for his paintings at the Orvieto’s Cathedral. The excellence of d’Amico’s wine has now become widely known amongst Italian wine drinkers and the Italian enological community.

Lazio IGT is the region-wide IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) title used for the Lazio region of western central Italy near Tuscany and Umbia. Just like in Tuscany next door, Lazio also has an increasing number of French-origin wine varieties including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah (Shiraz), Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc.

The most exciting, up-and-coming area for these French-Lazio blends is to the southeast of Rome in an area called Castelli Romani – a collection of communes atop a group of extinct volcanoes. The volcanic soil has shown to work very well for the Bordeaux-style blends, single-varietal Syrah, and others coming out of the area. Because these wines are usually declassified to Lazio IGT, and also use made-up wine names, it’s usually a little harder to find these wines.

Shiraz, also known as Syrah is a popular red wine. Though the spiritual homeland of this red grape is France, Syrah has been planted throughout the world to great success. It expresses itself differently depending on the climate, soil and regional style.

Syrah is typically bold and full-bodied, with aromatic notes of smoke, black fruit and pepper spice. Stylistically, it can be round and fruity, or dense and tannic. And in warmer New World regions like Australia, Syrah is most often be called Shiraz.

Winemakers who work in cooler-climate growing regions, both in the Old World and New World, tend to call their wines Syrah. The most famous examples come from the northern Rhône Valley of France, notably Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie. In the New World, in regions like Sonoma Coast, California; Yarra Valley, Australia; and parts of Chile, the wines are called Syrah because they emulate the leaner, acid-driven, savory styles of the Old World French classics.

Shiraz tends to come from warmer growing climates, namely the South Australian regions of Barossa, McLaren Vale and Adelaide Hills. Stylistically, these wines are lush, fruit-forward examples that embody the warmer, sunnier climate. Shiraz is so important to Australian viticulture that it is the most planted grape variety in the majority of Australian vineyards and has become virtually synonymous with the country's wine regions, and in particular the Barossa Valley.