Morgante

Morgante’s History and Philosophy

In the nineties, a wine called Nero d’Avola began to be heard persistently , something surprising and unprecedented until then, given that the name had rarely been seen on a label before. The reason was not difficult to understand: the area of ​​origin of the grape itself, called Nero d’Avola like the wines for which it was used, was a grape widely used at the time in the southern side of Sicily; the town of Avola , from which probably the origin of the name, is located in the province of Syracuse.

And the anonymity of the grape was easy to understand: it was used mainly, if not exclusively, for the production of wine blends, and for a very simple reason. In addition to the dark color and an important alcohol level, these wines also managed to maintain a useful level of acidity and were not the massive and monolithic wines often used to assist others with little body or character produced in the north. There was therefore a period of wide diffusion of the variety in the province of Trapani to replace the grapes used for Marsala, whose production was rapidly declining. Again, with truly variable results.

But there is also a Nero d’Avola of true quality and character, much of which produced in the province of Agrigento . And one of the leaders of its production is the Morgante company , located in the far east part of the province in the town of Grotte. Not a small producer, he owns something like 50 hectares of vineyards, but size isn’t the biggest factor. What really matters is their position, over 400 meters high where the hot summers of Sicilythey are mitigated by a cooler evening and night temperature, and their age: many of the vineyards are over 40 years old, and the wine from the old vineyards often has an edge, a more defined and complex personality, greater body and length.

The wines of Morgante

A crucial step in the success of the family was, however, the decision to hire Riccardo Cotarella , one of the greatest professional wine consultants in Italy, and the results were quick to arrive: an excellent regular bottling of 250 thousand bottles, by an intrigued white wine, with Nero d’Avola , a result in itself, and the exceptional Don Antonio selection , simply a great wine.