2003 Calabretta Etna Rosso

Community Tasting Notes (43) Avg Score: 90.6 points

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View PaulusLoZebra's profile
  • Report Issue

  9/10/2023 - PaulusLoZebra Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Mini-vertical of Calabretta, with an ’07 Nerello Mascalese Vigne Vecchie and Etna Rossos from ’03 and ’01. All three were delicious, savory wines in the same rustic Calabretta style, with very complex aromatics and flavors, good structure, good acid, but also plenty of mid-palate sweetness, integrated tannin, and a long finish, great QPR, and still many years ahead of them. All showed a mix of red and black fruits, especially sweet dark fruits, as well as mushrooms, tar, leather, smoke, and the typical Nerello Mascalese raw steak. All three showed some similarity to mature Nebbiolo and mature Pinot Noir.
  
  The 2007 NMVV was decanted two hours ahead of dinner, and was the biggest of the three wines, with a bit more barnyard and exotic spices than the others, plus a medicinal note and a finish featuring plum, bitter cherry and black cherry. Drink to 2035+. 93.
  
  The 2003 ER was also decanted two hours ahead of dinner, and featured more rosemary and minerals than the others, plus sweet cranberry, and a gentle liqueur aftertaste. Drink to 2030+. 94.
  
  The 2001 ER was decanted and served immediately and took about 30 minutes to open. It was the most balanced and silky of the three, and the least rustic, and featured bittersweet cherry, cherry liqueur, and dried herbs, and a very long, satisfying mineral and beetroot finish. Drink to 2027+. 95.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View PaulusLoZebra's profile
  • Report Issue

  12/27/2021 - PaulusLoZebra Likes this wine: 94 Points

  94+ My first bottle in over four years, I found this (Lotto 1) to be in a wonderful, delicious place. Double decanted, light color, the wine had brett upon opening which blew off by the time the wine was served one hour later. It continued to open up for another hour. Wonderfully complex aromas of red and black berries, plum, earth, mushrooms, tar, rosemary, smoke, raw steak. Flavors as above plus minerals and a long, savory, sweet cranberry finish, with a gentle liqueur aftertaste. This has a medium body, lots of acid, dusty tannins, and is succulent. Outstanding QPR. This can accompany a broad range of dishes but its complexity will shine with mild or medium foods. We served it with Ribollita and roasted Delicata squash. Three left in the cellar. Drink to 2025 ?

  2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View ericindc's profile
  • Report Issue

  2/19/2019 - ericindc Likes this wine: 92 Points

  This one was a bit of a rollercoaster. Started out a bit tight, opened up to be a bit tannic and drying with limited fruit and earth, but after 4 hrs, solid earth, strong fruit and tannins smoothed out. Give this alot of air in a decanter 4+hrs. Really nice mature Etnan read. Superb QPR.

  1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • View brendanm26's profile
  • Report Issue

  1/6/2019 - brendanm26 wrote:

  Well past the window, unfortunately. Had to pour it out.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View whudock's profile
  • Report Issue

  5/18/2018 - whudock Likes this wine: 90 Points

  earthy and nuanced. A bit thin in extraction. Great food wine. The fruit is beginning to fade. The color is moving to brick.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

View all 43 Community Tasting Notes

Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.