Wine & Spirits - Summer 2023 - 87

Sicily's Mount Etna
this wine is tangy and mouthwatering, filled
with flavors of tart lemon and barely ripe
peach. § North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA
91 | Carranco
$100
2020 Etna Bianco Contrada Carranco ^
Smoke and spice notes predominate in this
carricante, which rested in French oak barriques
for eight months. As the wine opens
in the glass, it reveals flavors of baked green
apple and lemon, along with ample salinity.
Decant for an hour before serving to let those
oak-driven notes resolve or, better yet, keep
it in the cellar for a couple of years. § Ethica,
Miami, FL
90 | Tenuta di Fessina
$30
2021 Etna Bianco Erse Bianco (BEST BUY) ^
Hints of smoke weave through zesty lemon
and lime flavors in a slightly oily texture.
The wine gains energy as it rests in the glass,
finishing on a brisk saline note. § Vineyard
Brands, Birmingham, AL
RED
94 | Planeta
2019 Sicilia Eruzione 1614 Nerello Mascalese
^ Grapes for this wine come from highelevation
vines around Planeta's Sciaranuova
winery on Etna's north slope, the soils
deriving from an eruption that occurred in
1614. As the crushed nerello mascalese grape
skins form a cap over the fermenting juice,
winemaker Patricia Tóth keeps that cap submerged
for up to 40 days, extracting fresh
red-berry flavors and fine-grained tannins.
The wine is easy-drinking yet packed with
personality, its taut raspberry and bloodorange
flavors scented with notes of smoke
and pink blossoms. § Taub Family Selections,
Boca Raton, FL
94 | Pietradolce
2019 Etna Rosso Santo Spirito ^ This pale,
floral-scented wine is the most ethereal and
linear Etna Rosso among Pietradolce's current
releases (five others are recommended
here). Made with fruit from 90-year-old
alberello vines that rise to an altitude of
close to 3,000 feet on Etna's northern slope,
the wine's tangy red-plum flavors ride on
nervy acidity, gaining notes of orange peel
and cranberry tea along with hints of white
smoke and a pleasant nut-skin savor. " Prettily
volcanic " is the way one taster described
it, and although it will age well, the wine is
irresistible today for its verve and brightness. §
Empson USA, Alexandria, VA
94 | Pietradolce
2019 Etna Rosso Rampante ^ Rampante feels
more earthbound than the high-toned Santo
Spirito (recommended above), its dense,
meaty tannins encasing tangy plum and raspberry
flavors that emerge after a few hours
in the glass. Those red fruit tones take on a
pristine freshness over time, suggesting this
will benefit from several years of cellaring. §
Empson USA, Alexandria, VA
93 | Carranco
$150
2019 Etna Rosso Contrada Carranco RV ^
This wine's red plum and cherry flavors take
on deep savory tones of bay leaf and black
spice as it develops in the glass. This is nerello
mascalese with five percent of nerello cappuccio,
including whole bunches (50 percent)
in the fermentation in concrete tanks.
The color is as deep as the tannins are dense
and powerful; after a day of air, those dark,
savory tones begin to lighten as the wine
gains freshness and precision. An hour's
decant or a few years in the cellar will bring
out the best in this wine. § Ethica, Miami, FL
93 | Pietradolce
2019 Etna Rosso Archineri ^ After some initial
reductive notes, this wine opens into
lively red-plum and raspberry flavors woven
with fine tannins that feel like cool black
sand. The wine gains energy over several
hours, maintaining freshness on the lingering,
smoke-tinged finish. § Empson USA, Alexandria,
VA
92 | Carranco
$100
2019 Etna Rosso Contrada Carranco ^ Flavors
of tangy seeded berries are pure and
piquant, woven with dark mineral tones and
hints of smoke that linger on an energetic
finish. The fermented juice macerated with
a submerged cap of crushed grape skins for
about 25 days, extracting fine needlepoint
tannins that frame the lively fruit tones. §
Ethica, Miami, FL
92 | Passopisciaro
2019 Etna Rosso Passorosso ^ This nerello
mascalese opens with lively flavors of red
plum and raspberry framed in cool, bristly
tannins. Earthy tones and a pronounced
mineral streak combine with the bright fruit
in a wine that offers ample density without
ever feeling heavy. § T. Edwards, NY
92 | Pietradolce
2019 Etna Rosso Feudo di Mezzo ^ This
is a rich and ripe Etna Rosso, its flavors of
warmed strawberry and plum layered with
dark smoky notes. The grippy tannins are
raspy and slightly rustic, yet the wine shows
good energy and verticality, a structure that
should maintain it over the next several
years. § Empson USA, Alexandria, VA
91 | Carranco
$50
2020 Etna Rosso Villa dei Baroni ^ Racy
acidity weaves through this wine, picking up
notes of woodsmoke and bristly dark minerals
that provide ballast to its tart raspberry
and cranberry flavors. § Ethica, Miami, FL
91 | Pietradolce
2021 Etna Rosso ^ Saturating flavors of black
cherry and strawberry are underlined by a
streak of dark minerality in this nerello mascalese.
Firmly structured and brightly acidic,
it's still easy drinking and juicy, an excellent
introduction to Etna Rosso. § Empson USA,
Alexandria, VA
90 | Massimo Lentsch
$38
2019 Etna Rosso San Teodoro ^ Massimo
Lentsch, who has been making wines on the
Aeolian island of Lipari for nearly 20 years,
started his Etna project in 2018. This nerello
mascalese from Etna's northern slope is
fresh and lively, its raspberry and cranberry
flavors tinged with notes of smoked almond
and salty black olive. § Enotec, Denver, CO
90 | Palmento Costanzo $44
2019 Etna Rosso Nero di Sei ^ Scents of citrus
blossom and bergamot accent flavors of soft
plum and raspberry in this understated wine.
The smooth, tea-like tannins make it ready
to drink now with pork tenderloin. § Artisanal
Cellars, White River Junction, VT
88 | Calabretta
$21
Vino da Tavola Cala Cala Vino Rosso (BEST
BUY) ^ Cala Cala translates as " gulp, gulp, "
and that's what you'll want to do with this
snappy wine. The nerello mascalese (with
five percent nerello cappuccio) is sourced
from a mix of young and old vines, and the
blend includes wine from several recent vintages.
Chill it lightly to play down the nervous
orange acidity, and enjoy the simple yet
mouthwatering cherry and blood-orange flavors
with a plate of salumi. § Polaner Selections,
Mt. Kisco, NY
88 | Palmento Costanzo $27
2019 Etna Rosso Mofete (BEST BUY) ^ Flavors
of warmed strawberry and caramel framed
in soft-leather tannins provide a gentle introduction
to Etna Rosso. § Artisanal Cellars,
White River Junction, VT l
Summ ER 2023
WINE & SPIR IT S
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Wine & Spirits - Summer 2023

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