DOC

Occhipinti Il Frappato

Azienda Agricola Arianna Occhipinti

Vintages 2024 2023

Arianna Occhipinti's benchmark Sicilian Frappato: 100% Frappato di Vittoria, farmed biodynamically on calcareous sands near the Iblei hills. Pale, perfumed and high-acid, with juicy cherry, violet and a savoury, chillable lightness.

UK Market From £34.18 Found across 3 retailers
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Verified retailers Price comparison Updated daily
Tasting Notes

Inside Occhipinti's Frappato: cherry, violet and savoury lift

Vivino's drinker consensus (4.1 from over 13,000 ratings) and James Suckling's note on the 2023 converge on bright cherry, wild strawberry, violet and black pepper over a savoury, mineral frame from the calcareous sands.

Tasted by
Style guidance
Source
Style guidance · confidence Medium
Taste profile
Body Light / Full
Tannins Smooth / Grippy
Sweetness Dry / Sweet
Acidity Soft / Crisp
Typical flavours for this style (Frappato)

The flavours below are the signature of Frappato in this style, shown here as shared reference. Tasting notes specific to this bottle are added when we research it.

VioletViolet
CherryCherry
StrawberryStrawberry
Wet stonesWet stones
LeatherLeather
Black pepperBlack pepper
CinnamonCinnamon
LiquoriceLiquorice
Live UK pricing

Where to buy the 2023 Occhipinti Il Frappato

The 2023 is the vintage currently on UK shelves, listed around 36 to 37 pounds across the merchants we track. Production is small, roughly 30,000 bottles a year, so availability moves quickly.

Best price · 75 cl £34.18 at Decantalo
Price spread £34.18 - £37.40 Across 3 UK retailers tracked
Retailers tracked 3UK 1 in stock · 2 awaiting restock
Vintages live 2024 · 2023 Current release: 2024
Per-litre (75 cl basis) £45.57 Per-litre price for the lowest current offer
Last checked 28 Jul 2026 Refreshed once every 24 hours
Wine fit score

How Occhipinti Il Frappato scores for your table

A versatile, food-first Sicilian red: high marks for the dinner table and easy everyday drinking, lower for long cellaring, reflecting its light, high-acid biodynamic style.

Best with food 9.1/10

High acidity, light body and low, fine tannin make it one of the most food-flexible Italian reds, from tomato pasta to grilled fish.

Best value 7.0/10

At about 36 pounds it is priced as a benchmark natural Sicilian, not an everyday red; the roughly 92-point critic standing and tiny 30,000-bottle production justify the ask for the style.

Best intro to this style 6.2/10

A classic indigenous-grape expression, but its pale, savoury, low-tannin natural style can surprise drinkers expecting a bold red.

Best for an occasion 6.0/10

A cult, critically acclaimed name that impresses wine lovers, though its light IGT style is more joyful than grand-occasion.

Scoring is rule-based and deterministic. The model and weightings are documented in our Wine Fit Score methodology.

Denomination Compliance Snapshot

Sicilia in five fields

A compact view of what the Sicilia denomination actually requires, and how this bottle sits inside it. Pulled from the official Italian disciplinare.

Allowed grapes
11 varieties listed
This bottle: Frappato.
Minimum ageing
Recorded by producer
Disciplinare ageing rule not yet recorded.
Region / area
Sicily
Style
DOC · Sicilia
Classification
DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata)
Retailer Shortlist

Where to Buy

Compare tracked offers from verified retailers at a glance. Stock is shown only where the retailer exposes it. Logos, sale pricing, and the strongest offer are surfaced first.

Best Live Price £34.18
Retailers Tracked 3
Last Checked 28 Jul 2026
Decantalo logo

Decantalo

Best price Awaiting restock
2023
£34.18
£45.57/L · checked 27 Jul
Notify me
75 cl · Low stock confidence
Vinissimus logo

Vinissimus

Best price Awaiting restock
2024
£37.40
£49.87/L · checked 28 Jul
Notify me
75 cl · Low stock confidence
Vintages

Occhipinti Il Frappato vintage by vintage

Frappato is an early-drinking, high-acid red, and Occhipinti's bottling rewards youth. The 2023 drew about 92 points from James Suckling for its fresh strawberry fruit, crisp acidity and chalky tannins.

2024 Current release
Lowest price
£37.40
Retailers
0 in stock · 1 awaiting restock
2023 Previous release
Lowest price
£34.18
Retailers
1 in stock · 1 awaiting restock
ABV
12.5%
Window
Drink now through 2028

The 2023 is fresh and finely structured, with James Suckling scoring it around 92 points for its wild strawberry fruit, black pepper, crisp acidity and chalky tannins. Drink it young and lightly chilled, ideally within three to four years.

Drink-now / hold guidance reflects general style cues for this wine, not a forecast for a specific bottle. Where vintage-level editorial notes exist, they appear above.

The disciplinare, the place, the label
01

DOC, DOCG, IGT: what the badges mean

Italian wine law sorts bottles into a pyramid. DOCG sits at the top: tightly drawn boundaries, prescribed grapes, mandatory ageing, government tasting before release. DOC is the same idea with looser thresholds. IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) is broader still, requiring only that 85% of the grapes come from the named territory.

Sicilia is in the DOC tier. That is not a quality verdict, it is a description of how much freedom the producer has at vinification and ageing.

02

The denomination rules, in detail

  • Allowed grapes. 11 varieties listed in the disciplinare
  • Tasting panel. No mandatory pre-release tasting
03

Region and area context

Sicilia falls within Sicily , covering Sicily.

04

Reading the label

  • Azienda Agricola Arianna OcchipintiProducer / estate
  • FrappatoGrape varieties (in declared order of dominance)
  • Sicilia DOCGeographic indication and quality tier
  • 2024Vintage (year of harvest)
  • Producer-declared ABV · 75 clAlcohol by volume and bottle size
  • Imbottigliato all’origineEstate-bottled

Perfect Pairings

Dishes that complement this wine

Food Pairing

Frappato's acidity and red fruit: dishes that fit

High acidity, light body and low, fine tannin make this a natural partner for tomato-led Sicilian cooking. Its juicy cherry and savoury edge bridge from pasta alla Norma to grilled tuna.

Acidity matching Strong match

Tomato-led Sicilian pasta and pizza

Frappato's high acidity mirrors the acidity of tomato sauce, so neither tastes flat, while its light body and low tannin let the dish lead. The bright cherry fruit lifts oregano, basil and ricotta salata.

Try with: Pasta alla Norma · Pizza Margherita · Pizza Marinara · Sfincione · More pairings →

Fat cutting Strong match

Fried Sicilian street food

Crisp acidity and a saline mineral edge cut through the oil of fried rice balls and dough, refreshing the palate between bites. The wine's light frame keeps it from competing with the fry.

Try with: Arancini · Pizza Fritta · Sfincione · More pairings →

Aromatic bridge Good match

Herb-driven lamb and tomato ragù

The wine's violet-and-red-fruit perfume bridges to rosemary and bay in a light lamb ragù, and its low, fine tannin frames the meat without drying it. Acidity keeps a tomato-rich sauce vibrant.

Try with: Agnello Ragu Lucano · Pasta alla Norma · More pairings →

Body matching Good match

Grilled tuna and meaty fish

Lightly chilled, this pale red has the weight to match seared tuna or swordfish where a bigger red would bully it. Its savoury, mineral side echoes a Sicilian salmoriglio of oil, lemon and oregano.

Try with: Tuna · More pairings →

Avoid Clash

Fiery chilli heat and sweet-sour glazes

This is a delicate, high-acid, low-tannin red with nothing to hide behind, so aggressive chilli heat amplifies its acidity and strips the fruit. Cloying sweet-and-sour glazes and briny raw shellfish flatten it too.

Skip with: Green curry · Sweet and sour pork · Oysters · Pairing guide →

Drinking + cellar

Cellaring Occhipinti Il Frappato

This is built for freshness, not the long cellar. Aged 17 months in concrete with no new oak and bottled with very low sulphur, it is best inside three to four years of the vintage.

Decanting
no

A short splash decant softens the first-pour edge and opens the aromatics.

Serving temperature
10-12°C

Aim for the cooler end on a warm day; warmer end opens up more aromatics.

Cellar potential
Low

Built for freshness: 17 months in concrete, no new oak and very low sulphur point to drinking within three to four years, not long cellaring.

Buy now or wait?
Buy now

£34.18 is the lowest tracked offer for the current vintage and we have no signal of further discounting.

Sources & trust

Sources behind this Occhipinti Il Frappato page

Prices & stock

Read directly from each retailer’s public product page once a day. Last refresh: 28 Jul 2026, 18:03 BST. We do not hold stock and we do not accept payment for placement.

Confidence · High
Tasting notes

A style read drawn from the grape and the appellation, not from this exact bottle. We mark these notes openly so you know what you are reading.

Confidence · Medium
Appellation rules & ageing

From the official Italian disciplinare for this denomination, cross-checked against the Ministry of Agriculture register.

Confidence · High
Why it costs what it costs

Our reading of the price, drawn from the disciplinare, public UK duty rates, and typical landed-cost benchmarks. Not a quote from the producer or a retailer.

Confidence · Medium
Drink window & cellar potential

Style guidance for this kind of wine at this price point. Treat it as advice, not a forecast for the bottle in your hand.

Confidence · Medium
Related

Explore Occhipinti, Frappato and Sicily

Producer
Azienda Agricola Arianna Occhipinti Sicily
Grapes
Frappato
Denomination
Sicilia DOC

Common Questions

It is 100% Frappato di Vittoria, the indigenous Sicilian red grown around Vittoria in south-east Sicily. Arianna Occhipinti farms it biodynamically on calcareous sands at about 220 metres, with vines averaging 35 years.

Yes. The vineyards are certified organic and farmed biodynamically with no chemical intervention, the wine ferments with indigenous yeasts in concrete, and total sulphur sits around 35 mg/l, far below conventional reds.

It is pale and light-bodied with high acidity and fine tannin. Expect cherry and wild strawberry, violet, white pepper and a savoury, mineral edge. Vivino drinkers rate it 4.1 from over 13,000 ratings.

Yes. Serve it lightly chilled, around 14 to 16C. The cool temperature sharpens its red fruit and acidity and suits its light, juicy frame, especially in warm weather.

Its acidity and bright fruit love tomato-led Sicilian dishes: pasta alla Norma, pizza margherita, sfincione and arancini. It also works with salumi, roast poultry and grilled tuna.

The 2023 is the current vintage on UK shelves, listed around 36 to 37 pounds. James Suckling scored it about 92 points for its fresh red fruit, black pepper and chalky tannins.

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Azienda Agricola Arianna Occhipinti Il Frappato