Pignatello

Also known as Perricone.

Pignatello is a synonym for Perricone, the native dark-skinned grape of western Sicily used in Marsala Rubino and in Sicilian red blends. The name Pignatello is the one used in several disciplinari of the Trapani and Agrigento area (for example Delia Nivolelli and Eloro), where it appears alongside or in place of Perricone.

As Perricone, it produces deeply coloured, tannic and savoury reds with black fruit and herbal, earthy notes, valued for structure in blends with Nero d'Avola and Frappato and, increasingly, as a varietal expression of Sicily's indigenous heritage.