Winemaker Notes
An aromatic and harmonious red with vibrant notes of red fruit on the nose and palate.
An ideal match with appetizers, pasta, and roasted meats.
Blend: 90% Nerello Mascalese, 10% Nerello Cappuccio
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
The peach, strawberry and sandalwood aromas are so attractive. It’s medium-bodied with integrated tannins and a crunchy, clean finish. Delicious now. Drink and enjoy.
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Decanter
Always an energetic and vibrant red, deAetna comes from contrada Blandano on the southeast slope of Etna. Bright and succulent red cherry with fragrant overtones make for a delightful sip; round, soft and delicious.
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Vinous
Wild strawberries, rose petals, earth tones, lavender and hints of spiced orange waft up from the remarkably pure 2022 Etna Rosso deAetna. This opens with a pleasant inner sweetness as vividly ripe wild berry fruits meet complicating notes of clove. Juicy acidity creates fantastic drinkability. The 2022 finishes incredibly fresh and clean, leaving behind a minty freshness and a subtle tug of fine tannin.
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Wine Spectator
There’s a light, pleasing fleshiness to this balanced red, carrying flavors of dried cherry and strawberry, tar, licorice root and wild thyme. Fine-grained tannins and orange peel acidity provide definition through the spiced finish. Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio. Drink now through 2032.
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.