Winemaker Notes
Pale ruby with orange hues. The nose is complex, with a balsamic note reminiscent of Mediterranean wild herbs. Palate is most elegant, with steely focus, tannic skeleton, and is sinewy rather than muscular.
Pair with meat or seasoned cheese.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Decadent aromas of crushed fruit, from strawberries to peaches, and then raw meat and flowers. Full-bodied, tight and linear. Yet, it’s fleshy at the same time with lots of ripe fruit, creamy tannins and a just a hint of walnuts. Drink or hold.
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of red berry unite with whiffs of Mediterranean scrub, blue flower and exotic spice. Reflecting the nose, the elegantly structured, focused palate delivers juicy red cherry, strawberry, star anise and baking spice accompanied by firm, polished tannins. Bright acidity lends balance. Drink 2022–2031.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Etna Rosso Guardiola offers a pure and steady presentation of varietal aromas that merge seamlessly from wild berry to ash to fragrant rose hip. Those tones are connected with delicate lacework-like complexity. The wine is silky and smooth in terms of mouthfeel, and it also offers an immediately accessible personality that means you don't need to wait too long to enjoy it. Guardiola is composed of 98% Nerello Mascalese and 2% Nerello Cappuccio. It is fermented with spontaneous yeasts and aged in a combination of barrique, tonneaux and botte grande for 18 months. Only 20% of the oak is new. Some 5,000 bottles were produced.
Rating: 93+ -
Wine Spectator
An up-front waft of tarry mineral leads to delicate aromas and flavors of dried thyme, orange peel and spice box, featuring ripe strawberry and cherry fruit midpalate. Medium-bodied, this is fresh and focused, with fine tannins firming the lasting finish. Should age nicely in the cellar, but this beauty will be hard to wait for. Drink now through 2028.
With hundreds of red grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended red wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged resulting in a wide variety of red wine styles. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a red wine blend variety that creates a fruity and full-bodied wine would do well combined with one that is naturally high in acidity and tannins. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
How to Serve Red Wine
A common piece of advice is to serve red wine at “room temperature,” but this suggestion is imprecise. After all, room temperature in January is likely to be quite different than in August, even considering the possible effect of central heating and air conditioning systems. The proper temperature to aim for is 55° F to 60° F for lighter-bodied reds and 60° F to 65° F for fuller-bodied wines.
How Long Does Red Wine Last?
Once opened and re-corked, a bottle stored in a cool, dark environment (like your fridge) will stay fresh and nicely drinkable for a day or two. There are products available that can extend that period by a couple of days. As for unopened bottles, optimal storage means keeping them on their sides in a moderately humid environment at about 57° F. Red wines stored in this manner will stay good – and possibly improve – for anywhere from one year to multiple decades. Assessing how long to hold on to a bottle is a complicated science. If you are planning long-term storage of your reds, seek the advice of a wine professional.
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.