Winemaker Notes
Beautifully balanced, rustic and elegant – the versatility of this wine encapsulates the fervor that surrounds Etna’s boutique producers. Introduce yourself to Sicilian wine, and believe the hype. Fruit comes from the Terra Costantino estate’s carefully tended Certified Organic vineyard on the southeast slope of Mount Etna. Grapes are harvested by hand, and wine ages in stainless steel and large oak casks prior to bottling.
Blend: 90% Nerello Mascalese, 10% Nerello Cappuccio
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Dried tea leaves, hot-stone notes, dried olives, strawberries and tar all feature prominently. Medium to full body, ripe, succulent yet structured tannins and a medium-long finish. Excellent concentration and depth.
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Wine Spectator
Fine tannins sculpt this harmonious, medium-bodied red, which offers a range of plumped cherry, wild strawberry, lavender, anise and tar-tinged mineral flavors. Mouthwatering finish. Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio. Drink now through 2030.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Etna Rosso de Aetna (made with 90% Nerello Mascalese and 10% Nerello Cappuccio) is packed tight with red fruit, spice, licorice, volcanic tones and tangy mountain herb. This is a classic interpretation that never pushes the boundaries one way or the other. Maybe the fruit is a little ripe in this hot and dry vintage; however, the wine offers enough power and strength to pair with lamb or a gamey venison. The finish offers a combination of ripe cherry fruit and bright acidity.
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.