Holiday to Etna, Sicily, October 2014

A weeks holiday to relax with great food and wine, it wasn't a tasting trip, but managed to get a few tastings in anyway.
We've read quite a bit from Jancis Robinson, James Suckling and others about Etna being a real up and coming region, so thought we'd have a little look and get a taste of whats happening. We're hardly trail blazing as Wine Spectator gave their October cover to Sicily and Etna, as we were proudly shown while we were there.

yes there were more wines than this, but no notes made.

• 2010 COS Nero di Lupo 89 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Sicilia

  (10/28/2014)

  Light bodied, a slightly floral nose but also savoury at the same time, developing red fruits, there's no tannins here, the acidity is clear and fairly bright and enough to balance the deep although not rich fruit flavours, fairly long and deliciously drinkable

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• 2011 Girolamo Russo Etna Feudo 90 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

  (10/29/2014)

  Medium body. This has some savoury smokiness on the nose with some medium high toned fruits, the palate is full of juicy fruit but still bone dry with very fine tannins. The legs are quite strong, I would think this ages better than it would appear, I think it needs a further year or 2 at least before hitting its peak, but still lovely drinking now.

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• 2010 Girolamo Russo Etna Bianco Nerina 90 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

  (10/30/2014)

  Light gold in colour. The nose is developing with aromas of almonds and very light honey with dried orange peel and some light fleshed fruits that I can't quite pick out. It's quite viscous in the mouth, the flavours are rich but still very dry with very good acidity which cleanses the mouth to a long tasty finish, it has the etna minerality you would expect. This was a lovely wine, I'm not sure how long it will keep, possibly a while yet, but it's really good to drink right now

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• 2009 Girolamo Russo Etna Feudo 89 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

  (10/30/2014)

  After drinking the 2011 last night, I saw this 2009 on the Shelf and had to try it. It has much of the same smoky savoury fruit, with all the edges smoothed out, you can see it's starting to brick when you pour it, it still has fair acidity and definitely is developing but I'm not sure if this vintage has as much structure as the 2011, maybe I'll find the 2010 tomorrow to see if that is in the sweet spot ? Still, delicious drinking, but drink this one up (I think)

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We were told if we wanted to buy wine to come here, we turned up with no appointment and were given a tour of the winery, and bit of history and a tasting, in english, they would have taken us out to the vineyards too had we wanted although we didn't have time for that unfortunately. They realised we were into wine rather than just wanted a drink and opened some better bottles for us to taste. This is a medium sized family firm, making wine from around 180 hectares of their own and brought in grapes. they are not organic but practice sustainable methods and encourage the same in their growers but admit it will take time, and money, before they get to the level that they want. While not a top producer, the wines were clean and well made and there was a good attitude to quality and improving the standard of not only their own wines, but the recognition of Sicilian and Etna wines. They are also starting to make regional village or cru wines to help foster better understanding of the Etna terroir. We were really glad to try the wines here, their Fondo Filara Etna Rosso is available via The Wine Society in the UK at around £10 and is a good buy for the price.

• 2013 Cantine Nicosia Etna Bianco Fondo Filara

  Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

  (10/31/2014)

  Quite full and expressive ripe apples and pear drops on the nose, the palate is all minerals like chewing crushed rocks, very dry, quite a full texture in the mouth, almost lemon sherbet nice length, pretty lovely drinking now but can age for 10-15 years so we're told

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• 2011 Cantine Nicosia Etna Rosso Fondo Filara 87 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

  (10/31/2014)

  3 months aged in barrique 3 in tonneaux, 3 in large barrels
  Medium light body, ruby red, aromatic nose, cherry fruits nose, a little vanilla on the nose, quite a bit of fine tannin to coat the mouth, plenty of fruit too, maybe would improve with another year or so ?

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• 2012 Cantine Nicosia Etna Rosso Vulkà 85 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

  (10/31/2014)

  the entry level wine, the same fruit as the main label etna rosso but this only gets 3-4 months in barrique, Light bright juicy fruit, a bit simple and lacking in depth but is clean and well made

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• 2009 Cantine Nicosia Nerello Mascalese Sicilia Sosta Tre Santi 90 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Sicilia

  (10/31/2014)

  labelled only as IGT as it is not blended with Nerello Capuccio, 2 years in wood, 2 years in bottle
  Lovely nose of ripe sour cherry, deep and dark fruit, long lasting finish, some very elegant tannins, stylish and will develop over more time

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This was just down the road from us and although we could see the winery sign, we never saw it open until the last day. We said as much to the sommelier and she replied they were open all day every day ! maybe we should have tried harder earlier in the week... Anyway, again without an appointment we were welcomed in and one of the owning brothers came out and gave us the tasting and history of the estate, again in english, they laid out cheeses and anti pasti for us to have with the tasting at 15 Euros. We got extra tastings when the owner realised we were interested, it was a lovely friendly welcome and tasting, the comparison between the 2 Etna red varietals was very interesting, they really do make some good wine here and are deservedly known internationally.

• NV Benanti Noblesse Brut 86 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Sicilia

  (10/31/2014)

  Disgorged June 2014. 100% carricante
  Slightly yeasty nose, yellow apples and lemon sherbert, enough depth for food, pleasant but not exciting

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• 2010 Benanti Etna Bianco Superiore Pietramarina 90 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Etna Bianco Superiore

  (10/31/2014)

  100% Carricante. It says pre-phylloxera, but although from some old vines these are on their own rootstock rather than true pre-phylloxera vines. Aged 1 year in acacia barrels
  Almond paste nose, almost something Sauternes like on the nose too, dry and mineral, quite concentrated, intense and long. Can age for around 10 years.

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• 2010 Benanti Nerello Cappuccio Sicilia Il Monovitigno 87 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Sicilia

  (10/31/2014)

  It was interesting to taste the 2 red etna varietals side by side, this one is the juicy easy going fruit side, definitely the Merlot to Mascalese's cabernet. Soft warm spice spices, soft red fruit nose, orange peel, juicy tiny fine tannins, ok length. ready to drink now I wouldn't have confidence this would develop with age

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• 2009 Benanti Nerello Mascalese Sicilia Il Monovitigno 89 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Sicilia

  (10/31/2014)

  Compared to the Nerello Capuccio his has Smokier fruits, deeper flavours & darker fruits, more tannin but still very fine, much longer, really good, strong legs, will need a bit more time to come together and smooth out

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• 2010 Benanti Etna Rovittello 89 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

  (10/31/2014)

  From vineyards north east of Etna so ripening later. Ripe cherry nose, some earth comes with time, quite tight still, very fine tannins. this has a good depth of flavour showing slightly sour cherry with some light savoury smokey touches, young but very tasty and has potential for the future.

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• 2004 Benanti Etna Serra della Contessa 88 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

  (10/31/2014)

  This is from the producers back garden vineyard on the south east slopes of Etna where the climate is warmer and the style of wine more ripe and rounded. Developing nose, a little soft new leather and tobacco, soft and integrated but still plenty of grip, strong legs, very dry in the mouth, If the dryness is from tannins then they are so fine I can't feel the grains but it is possible the fruit is drying out, i enjoyed this but it would need some food to balance the dryness for it to really shine.

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Like most of Italy everything revolves around local food, and Sicily produces so much fabulous produce, the wines are all built for drinking with food. Different from the wines we've tried from other parts of Sicily such as Nero d'Avola, the Etna wines with their mineral streak are so food friendly you can see them on many restaurant lists, but not just for Italian food. The few whites we tried were seriously good, the reds needed some age to show their style, getting the balance between the great fruit and developing flavours will take some research to find the sweet spot, but the mouth watering acidity and great minerality gives the wines the structure to last for a lot longer than they would appear. There's some similarities in that respect with Pinot Noir and maybe Nebbiolo or Sangiovese, i also found some wines reminded me slightly of Mencia but having said that, these wines have a real sense of place and individuality, they could have only come from Etna.