The 2014 Sicilia Perricone Ribeca is a dense red wine with a sharp and well-defined bouquet. You get generous tones of black fruit, dried cherry, pipe tobacco and camphor ash. This is a full-bodied red to pair with grilled meats or fennel-stuffed pork. There is a lot of power here with almost 15% alcohol. Some 38,000 bottles were produced.

Firriato's 2012 Perricone Ribeca is my favorite wine from this historic estate based in Trapani in southwestern Sicily. The wine is smooth and rich with deep penetration and a brooding, masculine style. The bouquet is redolent of dark fruit, plum, prune, pressed cherries, spice and dark pipe tobacco. Ribeca is tight and bold in terms of texture and it should hold forward for the next five years. Firriato is the only Sicilian estate I know of to offer a pure expression of the Perricone grape.

Strikingly unique, the 2011 Perricone Ribeca is the most fascinating wine in Firriato’s portfolio. Not many vintners produce pure expressions of Perricone. This native Sicilian grape was largely used as a blending agent. Of those who do have Perricones in their portfolios, none reach the level of complexity, intensity and textural finesse found in Ribeca. The wine shows dark, inky concentration and sweet aromas of blackberry, plum and exotic spice. The jury’s out on how the obvious oak presence (from ten months in French oak) will integrate with time. Drink 2015-2022. The ultimate Sicilian power couple, Salvatore Di Gaetano and the ever-alluring Vinzia Novara are the brains, brawn and beauty behind one of Sicily’s most successful, but highly individualistic brands. Firriato has always marched to its own drum. They are part of the first wave of bigger companies to invest on Etna, and they are the first to make wine on the arid island of Favignana off the Trapani coastline. The Firriato winemaking style is, to my mind, the most oak-forward and “international” in Sicily today. Importer: Soilair Selection, www.soilairselection.com

The 2009 Perricone Ribeca blasts from the glass with dark blackberries, blueberry jam, licorice, spices, smoke and French oak. I can’t say the Ribeca is especially varietal, but it is quite pretty in an opulent style that is typical of this part of the Firriato range. The Ribeca is a stand-out for its superb persistence and long, textured finish. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2017. Once again, Firriato has done a great job across the board with virtually their entire range, no small feat at production levels within the context of Italian wine. Importer: Soilair Selection, New York, NY; tel. (646) 244-4922

Few Sicilian producers export 100% Perricone wines to the U.S. Among those who do, Firriato’s Ribeca is among the best. This is a bold, concentrated and modern wine, with opulent chocolate and dark berry aromas framed by oak spice and vanilla. Keep it in your cellar for a few more years. ——M.L.(4/1/2012)—— 91