Winemaker Notes
Pietradolce Etna Rosso DOC is bright red in color with notes of berries and brushwood. Fragrant fruity and floral notes anticipate a full and elegant mouth. Elegance, minerality, and excellent persistence on the palate.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Grapefruit, fresh cranberries and mineral on the nose. Fresh and almost tangy on the palate with zesty citrus and a firm backbone of tannins. Nicely grippy and structured.
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Wine Enthusiast
The predominantly cool, fresh and earthy nose also features astringent, subtly warm aromas of tea leaves, hibiscus, plums, cranberries and orange peels. On the palate, those sour fruit notes are accentuated by almost metallic overtones of citrus and pepper. Acid fizzes in the background.
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Wine Spectator
Lightly mouthwatering and enticing, layering creamy tannins with crushed cherry and tar flavors, plus accents of tea rose, orange zest and clove. Harmonious, with a lingering, spiced finish. Drink now through 2030. 2,000 cases made, 900 cases imported.
Extending across the variable volcanic soils of the slopes of Mt. Etna at some of the highest vineyard altitudes in all of Europe—up to 3,300 feet—Nerello Mascalese is one of Sicily’s most noble red varieties. It makes a beautifully aromatic, firm, cellar-worthy but pale-hued red often comparable to a fine Burgundy or Barbaresco. Somm Secret—Nerello Mascalese takes its name from the black color of its grapes, nerello, and the Mascali plain between Mt. Etna and the coast where it is believed to have originated.
A large, geographically and climatically diverse island, just off the toe of Italy, Sicily has long been recognized for its fortified Marsala wines. But it is also a wonderful source of diverse, high quality red and white wines. Steadily increasing in popularity over the past few decades, Italy’s fourth largest wine-producing region is finally receiving the accolades it deserves and shining in today's global market.
Though most think of the climate here as simply hot and dry, variations on this sun-drenched island range from cool Mediterranean along the coastlines to more extreme in its inland zones. Of particular note are the various microclimates of Europe's largest volcano, Mount Etna, where vineyards grow on drastically steep hillsides and varying aspects to the Ionian Sea. The more noteworthy red and white Sicilian wines that come from the volcanic soils of Mount Etna include Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio (reds) and Carricante (whites). All share a racy streak of minerality and, at their best, bear resemblance to their respective red and white Burgundies.
Nero d’Avola is the most widely planted red variety, and is great either as single varietal bottling or in blends with other indigenous varieties or even with international ones. For example, Nero d'Avola is blended with the lighter and floral, Frappato grape, to create the elegant, Cerasuolo di Vittoria, one of the more traditional and respected Sicilian wines of the island.
Grillo and Inzolia, the grapes of Marsala, are also used to produce aromatic, crisp dry Sicilian white. Pantelleria, a subtropical island belonging to the province of Sicily, specializes in Moscato di Pantelleria, made from the variety locally known as Zibibbo.