2018 Mille e Una Notte
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Tasting notes
The top-shelf red from Donnafugata is the 2018 Sicilia Mille e Una Notte, which is mostly Nero d'Avola with other grapes in the blend, including Petit Verdot and Syrah. It shows rich concentration and dark fruit flavors of blackcurrant and plum. With time, you also perceive Sicilian aromas of caper and black olive. Those dark primary fruit flavors are framed by spice and mineral. The mouthfeel in 2018 is thinner than past vintages, especially on the mid-palate, and there is some bitterness that implies greener tannins. Some 70,000 bottles were released.
Critic scores
Average Score
Monica Larner, Wine Advocate
Eric Guido, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2018 Mille e una Notte opens slowly in the glass, dark and floral, whispering its bouquet of violets and lavender. Coaxing brings forward depths of black currant, mocha and balsam herbs, while remaining youthfully poised. It washes across the palate with a silken wave of mineral-tinged black berries and savory spices, as a bitter tension mixes with fine-grained tannins toward the close. This finishes structured and classically dry, yet incredibly long, with hints of Baker’s chocolate and tobacco. The 2018 is wrapped up tight and in need of cellaring to show its best. Mille e una Notte is composed primarily of Nero D'Avola, Petit Verdot and Syrah, which is refined in new barriques for 14 months.
The highly expressive 2018 Mille e Una Notte entices with a wild blend of blackberry, graphite, blood orange pith and tobacco. Silken in feel yet lifted and energetic, it offers crisp red and black fruits driven by a core of nervous acidity. Savory herbal tones swirl throughout, and the finish brings a cascade of minerals and spices. Only gently tannic, it leaves a sour cherry resonance to linger. The cool 2018 vintage is already showing incredibly well, with an almost old-school Bordeaux character that I find wildly attractive.
The 2018 Mille e una Notte opens slowly in the glass, dark and floral, whispering its bouquet of violets and lavender. Coaxing brings forward depths of black currant, mocha and balsam herbs, while remaining youthfully poised. It washes across the palate with a silken wave of mineral-tinged black berries and savory spices, as a bitter tension mixes with fine-grained tannins toward the close. This finishes structured and classically dry, yet incredibly long, with hints of Baker’s chocolate and tobacco. The 2018 is wrapped up tight and in need of cellaring to show its best. Mille e una Notte is composed primarily of Nero D'Avola, Petit Verdot and Syrah, which is refined in new barriques for 14 months.