WINEMAKER'S NOTES:
Sodale is deep red in color with purplish hues. On the nose aromatic notes of red fruit and sweet spices are in perfect harmony with woody vanilla notes. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, harmonious and pleasant with a lenghty balanced finish with polished, sweet tannins.
TASTING NOTES:
This is an excellent value buy. The Famiglia Cotarella 2022 Merlot Sodale Cotarella draws its fruit from Lazio near the village of Montefiascone with higher elevations and volcanic soils. This is a cool-climate expression of the grape, and you taste purple and blue fruits, pretty sweetness and tart flavors. The wine goes into oak for seven months, with second-use barrels handed down from the Montiano program. That volcanic signature is definitely present here with etched mineral notes. Riccardo Cotarella tells me that the Montiano site always delivers concentrated fruit and a strong sense of place.
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 93 pts.
A refined and creamy merlot with blackberries, dark chocolate and light graphite. It’s medium-bodied and balanced, with a lovely texture and a juicy and delicious finish. Beautiful now. Drink or hold.
- James Suckling, 92 pts.
Darkly floral, the 2022 Merlot Sodale opens with a daunting dark bouquet of dried violets, lavender, traces of stone dust and crushed blackberries. This splashes across the palate, silky and lifted, with ripe blueberries underscored by tactile mineral tones. The Sodale finishes perfumed and extended with a coating of fine-grained tannins and a staining of primary concentration that resonates.
- Vinous, 92 pts.
