Azienda Agricola COS
COS's single-vineyard Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico DOCG: 60% Nero d'Avola, 40% Frappato from old Fontane vines on red limestone soil. Two years in Slavonian oak give a floral, red-fruited, savoury Sicilian red with cooling acidity.
Drawn together from Vinous (94 points on the 2021), COS's own framing and Vivino's 1,200-plus drinker ratings, anchored in the wine's Fontane fruit and red-limestone soils.
Aromatically this opens dark and floral, with violets and dried rose over red Sicilian berries from the Fontane plots. Air brings a savoury top note of tobacco and ash that lifts into the fresher blood orange, sage and black raspberry Vinous picked out in the 2021. It reads as Frappato perfume layered onto Nero d'Avola depth.
Orange
Rose petal
Violet
Black cherry
Forest berries
Raspberry
Tobacco
Black pepperThe palate is silky and serene rather than heavy, built around the cooling acidity that the 25-year-old vines and slightly late harvest preserve. Wild berries laced with citrus and sweet spice carry across fine, well-knit Nero d'Avola tannins, while the Frappato keeps it light on its feet. There is real Sicilian sapidity here, savoury and mineral rather than jammy.
It closes long and savoury, the red clay and limestone soils of Fontane leaving a mineral, blood-orange tang behind the fruit.
This is COS's single-vineyard Cerasuolo, bottled only in stronger years from the old Fontane plots, and it shows: Vinous scored the 2021 a 94 and Vivino drinkers settle around 4.0 across more than 1,200 ratings. Drink it now with food or hold it through the late 2020s.
A single-vineyard Cerasuolo COS bottles only in stronger years, so supply is limited; the UK and EU listings here run from about 23 to 40 pounds for the 2021.
A deterministic read of the wine's structure, classification and price: strong on food and occasion, and built for the cellar more than the midweek table.
Bright Frappato acidity and fine Nero d'Avola tannin make it a versatile match for tomato dishes, herb-roasted pork, aged cheeses and even lightly chilled with Sicilian grilled fish.
A single-vineyard Cerasuolo bottled only in strong years and rated 94 by Vinous makes a confident dinner-party or gift bottle.
Twenty-four months in Slavonian oak, firm acidity and fine tannin give a genuine eight to ten year cellaring window from the 2021 vintage.
At roughly 23 to 40 pounds for a single-vineyard, Vinous-94 DOCG that ages a decade, it offers strong quality for money among serious Sicilian reds.
Scoring is rule-based and deterministic. The model and weightings are documented in our editorial methodology.
A compact view of what the Cerasuolo di Vittoria denomination actually requires, and how this bottle sits inside it. Pulled from the official Italian disciplinare.
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.
South-east Sicily had a warm, dry 2021; a slightly late harvest on the higher Fontane plots gave ripe fruit with cooling acidity, the release Vinous scored 94 points.
The 2021 growing season in south-east Sicily was warm and dry, concentrating Nero d'Avola's dark fruit while the higher Fontane plots held onto freshness. A slightly late harvest gave ripe, fine-grained tannins, and Vinous rated this release 94 points with a long cellaring window ahead.
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.
COS helped make Cerasuolo di Vittoria the first Sicilian wine to reach DOCG status, guaranteed in 2005, and has worked this Frappato and Nero d'Avola blend for over forty years from its Vittoria estate.
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.
Cerasuolo di Vittoria is in the DOCG tier. That is not a quality verdict, it is a description of how much freedom the producer has at vinification and ageing.
Cerasuolo di Vittoria falls within Sicily , covering Ragusa · Caltanissetta · Catania.
Delle Fontane is COS's cru: fruit from 25-year-old vines in one Fontane site, not declassified into the estate Classico. Scarcity and selection lift its price.
Two years in Slavonian botti plus bottle ageing ties up capital and cellar space for years before COS sells a single bottle, a real cost carried in the price.
Native-yeast fermentation and chemical-free farming need more labour and carry more risk than an inoculated, conventional Sicilian red, which pushes cost up.
Cerasuolo di Vittoria carries less price premium than Barolo or Brunello, so a 94-point single-vineyard like this lands near 30 pounds rather than three figures.
At the 2026 HMRC still-wine rate of 2.67 pounds a bottle plus 20% VAT, roughly 9 pounds of a 40-pound UK price is tax before the trade takes any margin.
Dishes that complement this wine
The wine's cool acidity and fine tannin point to tomato-led Sicilian cooking, herb-roasted pork and aged southern cheeses, and even lightly chilled with grilled tuna.
Cerasuolo di Vittoria carries bright acidity from its Frappato, and that acidity mirrors the acidity in cooked tomato so neither tastes sharp. Nero d'Avola's gentle tannin and red fruit then sit happily against aubergine and ricotta salata.
Try with: Pasta alla Norma · Eggplant parmesan · Pizza Margherita · Pizza Marinara · More pairings →
Fine Nero d'Avola tannin and cooling acidity cut through the fat of herb-roasted pork and fried snacks, refreshing the palate between bites. The wine's savoury, mineral edge keeps rich, golden food from cloying.
Try with: Porchetta · Arancini · Pizza Fritta · More pairings →
The wine's floral, blood-orange lift bridges to the lactic tang and nutty depth of caciocavallo and aged pecorino, while its acidity scrubs the fat. A medium body keeps it from overwhelming a cheese board.
Try with: Caciocavallo farcito · Pecorino sardo e pan carasau · More pairings →
With two years in Slavonian oak behind it, the wine has enough savoury structure to match a slow lamb ragu, yet stays medium-bodied so it lifts the dish rather than flattening it. Its acidity cuts the richness of braised meat.
Try with: Agnello Ragu Lucano · Lamb shank · Rack of lamb · More pairings →
Cerasuolo di Vittoria is one of the few reds that flatters Sicilian grilled tuna: the Frappato keeps tannin low so it never turns metallic against the fish, and the cooling acidity answers a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt. Serve it lightly chilled.
Try with: Tuna · grilled swordfish · seared tuna steak · More pairings →
This is a wine of perfume and freshness, not power, so chilli heat and sticky-sweet glazes bully it: capsaicin amplifies the alcohol and flattens the Frappato fruit. Keep it away from vindaloo-level spice and heavy sweet-and-sour sauces.
Skip with: Vindaloo · sweet-and-sour glazes · Scotch bonnet heat · Sichuan mala · Pairing guide →
Built to age: twenty-four months in Slavonian oak botti and firm acidity support drinking from 2026 through the early 2030s, with the importer 8wines suggesting up to nine years in bottle.
Peak around 2029. Best in the years above; holds without falling over either side.
A short splash decant softens the first-pour edge and opens the aromatics.
Twenty-four months in Slavonian oak, firm acidity and fine tannin give a genuine eight to ten year cellaring window from the 2021 vintage.
£23.18 is the lowest tracked offer for the current vintage and we have no signal of further discounting.
Read directly from each retailer’s public product page once a day. Last refresh: 7 Jun 2026, 14:28 BST. We do not hold stock and we do not accept payment for placement.
Confidence · HighDrawn from what drinkers consistently report on Vivino and Wine-Searcher, summarised in our own words. A crowd read across many tasters, not a single critic.
Confidence · MediumFrom the official Italian disciplinare for this denomination, cross-checked against the Ministry of Agriculture register.
Confidence · HighOur 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 · MediumStyle guidance for this kind of wine at this price point. Treat it as advice, not a forecast for the bottle in your hand.
Confidence · MediumIt is a blend of 60% Nero d'Avola and 40% Frappato, the two grapes of Sicily's only DOCG, Cerasuolo di Vittoria. The fruit comes from a single old-vine parcel in the Fontane area of Vittoria, in the province of Ragusa.
The grapes ferment spontaneously on their skins in concrete with native yeasts, then the wine ages for about 24 months in large Slavonian oak botti before further time in bottle. COS bottles this single-vineyard cuvee only in stronger vintages.
Expect a medium-bodied, savoury Sicilian red: violets and dried rose, blood orange, black raspberry and sweet spice, with cooling acidity and fine tannins. Vinous scored the 2021 release 94 points.
Its bright acidity and gentle tannin suit tomato-led Sicilian dishes like pasta alla Norma, herb-roasted porchetta, and aged caciocavallo or pecorino. It is also one of the few reds that flatters Sicilian grilled tuna when served lightly chilled.
Yes. The structure supports drinking from around 2026 into the early 2030s, and the importer 8wines suggests cellaring for up to nine years. Decant it for a couple of hours if you open it young.
UK and EU listings for the 2021 here run from about 23 to 40 pounds a bottle. As a single-vineyard wine made only in top years, it is produced in small quantities and sells through quickly.
Azienda Agricola Cos
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