Hugonis Cabernet Sauvignon/Nero d’Avola Sicilia I.G.T. 2011
Tenuta Rapitalà
Hugonis with its powerful and austere style is the most prized product of Tenuta Rapitalà, the legacy wine. The seal of Hugonis Bernardi – a knight in armor with two leopards – which appears on the label, is the coat-of-arms of the family of Hugues Bernard de la Gatinais and his son, Laurent.
Terroir: 100% estate-grown fruit is sourced from Nero d’Avola and Cabernet Sauvignon plots situated between 1,000 and 1,300 feet above sea level on rich, clay soils. Guyot-trained vines have limited yields of 28 quintals per acre.
Vinification: The grapes are harvested in mid-September. Each parcel is harvested and vinified separately in small, stainless steel vats with long macerations, over two weeks for the Cabernet Sauvignon and one week for the Nero d’Avola. At the end of fermentation,
the wines are transferred to French oak barriques (50% new and 50% second and third passage) where they are left to mature for 18 months before being blended and bottled. The resulting wine rests in bottle for six months before release.
Laurent de la Gatinais discusses Hugonis
Additional Information
With an attractive red ruby color with medium-high intensity, in the nose it surprises for a powerful fruit remarkably blended with traces from its noble ageing: coconut and toffee, evolving into seductive nuances of spices and Mediterranean bush. The attack is truly powerful and develops in the mouth a pleasant sensation of volume and unctuosity with drives us to a long finish, nervous and fresh due to its optimum acidity, and bringing back an aftertaste with red fruits and again Mediterranean bushes.
Technical Details
- Appellation: Sicilia IGT
- Sustainability: Sustainable Practices
- Soil: Loose clay, sand
- Alcohol: 14%
- Ttl Acidity: 5 g/l
- Residual Sugar: 3.7 g/l
- Sizes Available: 750ml, 1.5L
- Pack Size: 6/750ml
- Varietals: 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Nero d’Avola
Recent Press
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Forbes Author: Nick Passmore
Date: Wednesday, August 12, 2015"Laurents flagship red shows his inventive approach to southern winemaking. Here he blends a traditional and an international varietal, with the structure and elegance of Cabernet nicely balancing the generosity of fruit of the Nero dAvola." - Forbes Author: Nick Passmore
Date: Tuesday, September 23, 2014"Laurent’s flagship red shows his inventive approach to southern winemaking. Here he blends a traditional and an international varietal, with the structure and elegance of Cabernet nicely balancing the generosity of fruit of the Nero d’Avola." -
Score: 90 Points
Wine Spectator Author: Alison Napjus
Date: Monday, September 8, 2014"An expressive blend, with bold, juicy flavors of blackberry puree and plum sauce layered with fine tannins and accents of fried herb, loamy earth, star anise and vanilla. Cabernet Sauvignon and Nero d'Avola. Drink now through 2021." -
Score: 92 Points
The Wine Advocate Author: Monica Larner
Date: Monday, June 16, 2014"The 2011 Hugonis (Cabernet Sauvignon and Nero d’Avola) is a large-framed wine packed tight with ripe fruit, scorched earth, leather, tobacco, licorice and cola. Hugonis shows bold tones and big bones with a dense, yet utterly elegant mouthfeel. Drink 2015-2022."
