Etna Fest

A one of a kind tasting of 17 wines from 9 producers on the volcano, including some iconic bottlings and others that were entirely new to me. A variety of styles was represented, but the majority had in common a relatively non-interventionist approach to allowing the fruit to speak of the place it came from.

Two well known Etna producers, including some rare cru wines.

• 2021 Passopisciaro Contrada PC Bianco 91 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Terre Siciliane

  100% chardonnay from Contrada Passochianche, 870-950m in elevation. Vines planted in the 70s, they said. Harvested after Aug 15, 12 hr cold soak then fermentation in large neutral oak vessels, followed by malo and 6+ months lees aging and another year in bottle.
  Emphatically not burgundian, it's very much its own thing. No sense of oak, it's about sweet, ripe tropical & melon fruit. Intense but not heavy. I don't think I could have placed this on Mt Etna, but it's definitely an idiosyncratic expression of chardonnay. Too expensive, but glad to have a taste.

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• 2022 Passopisciaro Passorosso 91 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

  100% nerello mascalese from a blend of all their Contrade, but about 1/2 from Guardiola. All vines 80-110 years old, harvested between early Oct (550-700mt plots and late Oct (higher altitude). A moderate 8-9 day maceration, aging 18 months in large oak and concrete. 14.5% abv. I believe this is the winery's only bottling actually labeled as Etna DOC.
  Not your generic entry-level Etna Rosso (and priced accordingly). Color is typically pale garnet, a noticeable, not unpleasant whiff of sulfur puts this squarely in volcanic soil. Rich red fruit, but well balanced on the palate, tannins and acid suggest a pretty long life ahead. A bit of garrigue too. Suggest giving this a few years to mellow out.

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• 2022 Passopisciaro Terre Siciliane Contrada Guardiola 92 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Terre Siciliane

  Lying just above the winery, this contrada wine is from vines 800-1000m in elevation. Fermented in stainless, aged in large oak like all the Passopisciaro nerellos. Less than 4000 bottles produced.
  Compared to the 2022 Passorosso, this is more intense and spicy, but there's a family resemblance. Full bodied but not heavy, a great balancing act. This is twice as expensive as Passorosso, so I couldn't justify a purchase, but it's pretty special.

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• 2022 Girolamo Russo Etna 'a Rina 90 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

  90% nerello mascalese, 10% nerello cappuccio, blended from Russo's 4 contrade, mix of old and younger vines. Aged in 26hl botti + concrete tanks. 40K bottles per annum.
  Compared to others at an Etna-focused tasting, the fruit here was more sweet, a little cloying, and had a distinct medicinal edge which I liked. Very good.

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• 2022 Girolamo Russo Etna San Lorenzo 89 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

  70-100+ yo vines, 750-780m elevation. Low yields, spontaneous fermentation, aging in 26hl botti. Only 4000 bottles per annum.
  This was pretty sulfurous/stinky, not sure if due to native yeast or that volcanic soil imprint. The flavor profile was sweet and somewhat cloying, like the 'a Rina but more so. Not my favorite, especially given the price.

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• 2021 Girolamo Russo Etna San Lorenzo Piano delle Colombe 93 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

  A special bottling of 100% 80yo nerello mascalese from Contrada San Lorenzo, aged in 1 500L tonneaux and 1 2nd use barrique, producing just 750 bottles.
  This had more depth and complexity than the other 2 Russo Rossos (hah!) and didn't have any sponti funk. Very, very good. But the price tag, yikes!

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Old familiar names like Calabretta and I Custodi, plus new to me producers Eduardo Torres and Federico Graziani.

• 2022 I Custodi Etna Bianco Ædes 90 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

  From vines in Contrade Moganazzi (near the winery) and Mertoli (eastern slope). Just 60% carricante, with the rest grecanico (= garganega), minella, and catarratto. All stainless steel, 30k bottles.
  Softer and less mineral than 100% carricantes I've had, but nice nevertheless. Easygoing. Kind of a salted pear vibe.

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• 2019 I Custodi Etna Ætneus 91 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

  From 2 ha of up to 100yo vines at 700m altitude in Contrada Moganazzi Casa, 80% NM, 20% NC. Fermented in steel, malo and aging 18 months in used 500L tonneaux, then 12 in bottle. 14% abv. About 10K bottles per annum. The contrada is spelled Moganazzi on the website, but Muganazzi on the bottle.
  Moderately dark ruby color. A little sulfurous stink on the nose, but not in a bad way - to me it's a fairly common kind of Etna funk. Good depth on the palate: plenty of red fruit and spice, a nice tannic backbone and fine acidity. Textbook Etna Rosso.

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• 2021 Federico Graziani Etna Rosso 90 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

  New producer for me, he was a prominent sommelier. This is their entry level, but not cheap at all. 90%NM, 10% NC. Apparently 1200m elevation, and listed at only 13% abv. It was indeed lighter, more ethereal than the other Etna Rossos tasted today. Apparently fermented and aged all in steel. Very good, but too pricey.

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• 2021 Eduardo Torres Acosta Terre Siciliane Versante Nord 91 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Terre Siciliane

  New producer for me, a Louis/Dressner import. He is from Tenerife (another volcanic island!), trained as an oenologist, and ended up in Sicily first at Arianna Occhipinti, then Passopisciaro. 85% nerello mascalese, 15% "other" from a mix of sites on the north face of the volcano from Linguaglossa in the E to Randazzo in the W, 550-930m elevation. 50+ yo vines. Fermented in "botti di cemento" and aged in same plus some older barriques.
  More powerful tannins than the other rossos tasted today, really has structure to age. Nice cherry fruit. Pretty natural in style, but not funky or stinky. Maybe the best balanced of the day, at least of the wines that were in the affordable range.

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• 2019 Calabretta Terre Siciliane Sara 90 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Terre Siciliane

  Labeled as Terre Siciliane, but it's 50yo nerello mascalese vines in Contrada Feudo di Mezzo, Passopisciaro.
  Lighter in color, elegant on the palate. This seems to have some brett; been many years since I had one of their wines (an '02 Etna Rosso!), but I think I recall brett being a major feature here. A nice wine in its style, but for $50 I'd prefer it to taste of the special grapes it's made from.

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3 more familiar producers, and my first ever taste of Pietramarina.

• 2023 Benanti Etna Bianco 90 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

  From vines at 700-900m elevation on the eastern and southern slopes of the volcano. 100% carricante, fermented and aged entirely in stainless steel.
  Very typical of the variety, mineral and lemons galore, a little saltiness. I recall enjoying the 2016 vintage many years ago, but I paid $23 for that one. This was listed at the tasting at almost $40. Too much. I do see it's available elsewhere for $27, which is reasonable for the quality.

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• 2019 Benanti Etna Bianco Superiore Pietramarina 93 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Etna Bianco Superiore

  The most famous white from Etna, carricante from 80yo terraced site in Contrada Rinazzo in Milo on the eastern slope of the volcano, 800m elevation. Fermented in stainless, aged 30 months on the lees in the same stainless containers.
  Yes, this takes it up a notch from the Etna Bianco. Rich, leesy, mineral, very long. It speaks of world class white wine, but maybe not entirely typical of Etna Bianco? Glad to have tried it, but the price has gotten silly.

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• 2022 Benanti Etna Rosso 89 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

  Benanti is better known for their whites, and this was cheaper than the Etna Bianco by a few dollars. 80% NM, 20% NC. 10-60yo vines from all over the mountain. Mostly matured in stainless, 20% in used barriques.
  Even lighter in color than most of today's Etna rossos. But quite full in body. Spicy, salty, good but not great.

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• 2022 Planeta Etna Rosso 89 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

  Planeta is a behemoth with wineries all over Sicily making a very wide variety of products. Their Etna rosso vines are in Feudo di Mezzo (610m) and Pietramarina (510m). 100% nerello mascalese. Appears to be a fairly modern vinification style, at least more so than others tasted today. More broad and sweet in flavor as well. Perfectly fine red wine, but maybe doesn't speak as much of Etna. I recall a similar impression of the 2016 vintage, about 3 years ago.

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• 2019 Tornatore Etna Rosso Pietrarizzo 91 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

  Tornatore's vines are cordon trained instead of the usual bushvines found in Etna. Not sure if this is the reason, but their wines were a bit different than others tasted today.
  Pietrarizzo is from 100% nerello mascalese. Aged in a mix of French oak and cement. Typically light in color, but more tannic structure than most of today's reds. Also a good deal of sweet fruit. Very good indeed.

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• 2018 Tornatore Etna Rosso Trimarchisa 91 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

  This pricy offering is apparently the current vintage (not a favorable one on Etna). Trimarchesa is a unique contrada in that it's only 400m elevation, much lower than most. It's abutting the Alcantara river.
  While most of today's Etna rossos had a common spiciness, this one I noted as especially medicinal in flavor. Not in a bad way. It was distinctive and very good. But not $80+ good.

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Uniformly excellent quality, but given the prices these go for now, it better be! Nerello mascalese is a terrific variety, and while many still draw parallels to pinot noir or sometimes nebbiolo, I find a family resemblance to sangiovese. Which is actually one of its parents, according to VIVC. I might like carricante even more, but that chardonnay was quite interesting too.