Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
There is so much red berry fruit here such as redcurrants and raspberries as well as more ripe notes of ash, tar, dried rose petals and spices. The palate is quite rich and dense yet very much kept fresh by tangy fruit and pretty acidity. Long finish. Drink now.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Etna Rosso Trimarchisa combines the lean, elegant approach that is the house style at Tornatore with the sunny exuberance of this warm vintage. The wine is made with 95% Nerello Mascalese and 5% Nerello Cappuccio and is aged in oak for one year. You get bold red fruit with dried cherry and raspberry framed by ash, licorice and crushed stone. This wine is ready to drink straight out of the gate, thanks to its integrated tannins and acidity. Some 12,000 bottles were made.
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of tobacco, menthol, coconut and a whiff of oak-driven spice lead the bouquet of this wine. The firm, focused palate boasts fine-grained tannins that lithely support flavors of dried black cherry, ripe raspberry, star anise and espresso. Drink 2020–2025.
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.