Type: Red - Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon Sicilia IGP
Alcoholic content: 13-13,5% alc/vol.
Grapes: Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Trained in the counter-espalier system and pruned in spurred cordon. Average planting density, 5,000 vines per hectare (2,024 an acre); production of about 6 tons per hectare (2.4 tons an acre). Mainly clayey terrain of medium consistency.
Wine-making: The Merlot is harvested in the final week of August, and Cabernet Sauvignon the third week of September. The grapes are vinified in stainless steel vats and macerated with their skins for 12 days at 26-30°C (79-86°F). After malolactic fermentation, the wine matures in previously used, French oak barriques for about a year and aged in the bottle for a further 12 months.
Description: Intense in color the Angheli presents itself ruby colored; the scents are balsamic with hints of violets and sweet tobacco. A wine of good body and silky tannins which reveals pleasantly caressing and fruity (sour cherry) sensations in the mouth.
Food & Wine: This wine works best with roast or braised red meats, game and cheeses.
Two dishes: Coscio di cervo al forno (roasted leg of venison). Coscio di stambecco al forno con verza stufata al vini rosso (roasted mountain goat with cabbage stewed in red-wine sauce). Piccione ripieno (stuffed pigeon).
Serve: If served in large, big-bellied goblets, it can be uncorked at the time it is to be served; otherwise a couple of hours before serving.. Excellent at 16-18°C (61-64°F).
Curiosity: "...ladies, knights, arms and loves?" Would that be Angelica in Orlando Furioso, who flees on the horse shown on the label? Donnafugata has many "women in flight;" each has a past in history and tradition but also, clearly, a future of softness and seduction. First vintage: 1997