This is a controversial new release from vintner Salvatore Geraci that sparked lively discussion at the Sicilia en Primeur tasting in May of this year. Some thought it oxidized and others did not. I stand in the first camp. From a hot and dry vintage, the 2017 Faro Palari offers mature and evolved fruit that does indeed feel faded and cooked. This is a traditional blend of 60% Nerello Mascalese, 30% Nerello Cappuccio and 10% Nocera. Baked cherry is followed by grilled herb, licorice and aniseed. It ferments on the skins for two weeks and later sees two years in barrique followed by a year in bottle. Faro Palari is one of my favorite Sicilian wines, and although I might pass on this vintage, I look forward to tasting future creations made by this highly individualistic and passionate winemaker.

The Palari 2014 Faro Palari is mostly Nerello Mascalese with Nerello Cappuccio, Nocera and other complementary grapes such as Acitana, Galatena, Jacché and Core 'e Palumba. The wine shows hints of its age, thanks to the crimson highlights revealed at the rims. The results are silky and have been sufficiently ironed out by time, showing dusty tannins and smoky hints of dried fruit and blackcurrant. The wine is streamlined and elegant, bringing an austere or noble side to the Faro appellation in the northern part of Sicily just off the Strait of Messina. There is also an open or accessible quality to this vintage that makes the wine more probable for medium-term drinking. Production is 15,000 to 18,000 bottles each year.

Salvatore Geraci is a towering figure in one of Italy's lesser-known appellations. Faro represents the northern tip of the triangular island of Sicily, near Messina. The 2013 Faro Palari is a dark and savory wine with black fruit, smoke, tar and camphor ash. This vintage shows surprising and delightful intensity. The finish is dry and structured with tannins that remain firmly knit for now. These will loosen with more bottle-aging time. I love the authentic character you get here. The crazy blend of grapes used here is Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio and Nocera in the leading roles. Smaller parts of Acitana, Galatena, Jacché and Core 'e Palumba grapes are also thrown into the blend. Some 16,000 bottles were made.

Here is a wine that totally surprised me. The 2012 Faro Palari is enormously profound, elegant and finely etched. It is a wine that should be celebrated thanks to the myriad of small details it offers. First, the 2012 vintage shows a mineral side that is absolutely beautiful. The nose is sharp and focused with pencil shaving, brimstone and flint. As soon as those drying mineral notes lift, the bouquet warms up with fruit flavors: cherry, blackberry and dried raspberry. The bouquet continues to evolve with spice, leather and tobacco. This wine reaches an impressive level of complexity. Even though 2012 was not a classic vintage, the Faro appellation shows beautifully. In the mouth, the wine offers intensity, fleshy fruit flavors and bright acidity. The tannins are both soft and firm. This is a more immediate expression and I will give the wine a slightly shorter drinking window. This vintage will drink well in the long term but it will also show promising results in the medium term.

The 2011 Faro Palari is a tight, nervous and youthful wine. It needs more time to soften and age in the bottle. The nose is a bit edgy, with sour cherry aromas, wild berry, moist earth, white truffle, licorice and tar. The tannins also feel more pronounced in this very warm vintage. That extra astringency should relax with more bottle aging. This is a wine that really gets between your teeth. Its brightness, acidity and intensity would make a good pairing partner to heavy beef stews or game meat. The wine shows dimension and tension, with muscle and power on the finish. Ultimately, I thought it was just slightly less complex than the 2010 vintage that precedes it.