Kaid Vendemmia Tardiva - 'Late Harvest'. Aristocratic and seductive, something of the night perhaps. Certainly there is the hint of debauchery here. Allowed to dry on the vines in very small family selected parcels of Syrah and then gently pressed to keep the thick mulberry ripeness, and the nearly treacle toffee sugar levels in harmony.  Concentrated and spicy woodland fruit, slight hint of toasted caramel leading to thick but well balanced sweet finish. Sip with chocolate perhaps, or just a subtle swig when the sun goes down after a long autumn walk.  Sort of Pre-Raphaelite crossed with Mary Shelley gothic.

The Alessandros from Camporeale. Small town in the hills above Palermo. Longstanding fields left to go to seed over the years till the brothers decided to make like a vigneron and get growing. They started in and around 2000 with Syrah plantings and have progressed to Nero d’Avola, Catarratto and Sauvignon Blanc, which we have yet to bring over.Sicily has the climate to produce fantastic fruit with no real worry over the weather. They are lucky too that regulations do not allow irrigation so we have great vines struggling hard against the heat, they just concentrate all that flavour into those lovely little berries. The Alessandros are a top team and the products they gently release onto the market are accepted within months as outstanding. They started with Kaid Syrah, and now even have an incredibly perfumed and unctuous sweet Syrah to finish off the range.