ETNA ROSSO
Sicily has and ancient history with the vine, dating back to Magna Graecia and beyond; however, it is now the source of many new discoveries and modern wine making changes (including irrigation). Hidden in plain sight amongst the sea of wines churned out of the island are the slopes of Mount Etna, the famed active volcano. On these slopes are small vineyards, planted mostly in ancient and uniquely Sicilian varietals....Nerello Mascelese and Cappuccio. Here, the vines are not on the hot valley floor, but rather 1200 to 3000 feet high. Here, snow falls in winter, and harvest is as late as Barolo, or later.....Here, on the slopes of Etna, are the truly unique, and natural wines of Sicily.
Vines are tented to as any fine wine region, whether Barolo, Bordeaux, or Burgundy, without irrigation. On Etna, the vine is grown to suit the environment. One also finds many micro climates, depending on the exact altitude and exposure on the slope; moreover, Nerello produces a very fragrant wine, with silky tannins and garnet color.
As a result, Etna Rosso is often declared Italian Burgundy. Such a comparison is unfair, but it does aptly describe both the subtlety of the wines, as well as the small production, and the emphasis on place.
I VIGNERI DI SALVO FOTI ETNA ROSSO 2006
| Bursting with red fruits, lithe and aromatic. |
| |
I VIGNERI DI SALVO FOTI ETNA VINUPETRA ROSSO 2006
| Intense red berry flavors with balanced acidity and tannins. Sort of a Sicilian Clos de Beze. |
| |
PIETRADOLCE ETNA ROSSO 2007
| Pietradolce was founded in 2005 and is set in Solicchiata, a village in the area of Castiglione di Sicilia on the North East slopes of Etna. The vineyard covers 10 hectars at a height above sea level of 600-800m and is divided into three plots, each in a different hamlet: Marchesa, Moganazzi and... |
| |
TERRE NERE FEUDO DI MEZZO 2007 ETNA ROSSO
| Wine Spectator Rating: 90 |
| |
TERRE NERE GUARDIOLA 2007 ETNA ROSSO
| From 2.1 hectares of nearly all prephylloxera vines at 800-900 meters above sea level (the highest red-grape vineyard in all of Europe!), this elegant wine is ethereal and balanced with very finegrained tannins and dark, plummy fruit. |
| |
TERRE NERE PREPHILLOXERA DON PEPPINO 2007 ETNA ROSSO
| From 1.5 hectares within Calderara, from vines like tree trunks, all planted on original rootstock. This wine is extraordinary, extraordinarily rare, and worth every penny! Double dose of depth and concentration here - both on the aromatics and on the palate, with darker, deeper fruit, a strong...Wine Spectator Rating: 93 to 93 |
| |
