Deci Mani 'Perricone'

A certified-organic Sicilian red made from Perricone. Dark berries, cherry and juicy blackcurrant sit next to black olive, dried spice and a salty edge. The tannins have real grip and the structure is rustic rather than polished, with enough weight to stand up to food. Reviewers put it with home cooking — beef ragu, lighter meats, even fish.

The vines sit in Trapani province at the south-western end of Sicily, up at around 600 metres. That altitude matters. Nights up there run cool even in a Sicilian summer. That drop in temperature holds the acidity in a grape that goes flat and jammy on the coastal plain.

Perricone is an old Sicilian variety, also called Pignatello, and by the late twentieth century only about a thousand hectares were left on the island. Deci Mani means ten hands, the idea being that many hands make light work. Blackhearts and Sparrows reckons anyone who drinks Australian Sangiovese will feel at home with its red currant and terracotta edge.

Serve it a touch below room temperature, around fifteen degrees, and it does not need decanting. Open it tonight rather than cellaring it.