2017 Girolamo Russo Etna Feudo

Community Tasting Notes (6) Avg Score: 91.6 points

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  4/30/2023 - Rightbankrefreshment Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Heavy cherry notes. Drinking well now.

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  3/18/2023 - glimmervoid wrote:

  Chateau Biawak Chapter 11: Exploring the Single Vineyards of Mt. Etna through Etna Rosso (Chateau Biawak, Singapore): 14.5% ABV. Contrada Feudo (not to be confused with Feudo di Mezzo) is located almost at the midpoint between Randazzo and Castiglione di Sicilia. The land that this vineyard sits on was already being farmed at the time of the ancient Greeks, who lived in the settlement which would eventually become the modern-day town of Randazzo. The Greeks themselves planted the vines here back then. The soil here is deep and generous, and the area enjoys a microclimate created by the winds blowing in from a ravine called the Val Dèmone (Valley of the Demons). The name came about because, according to legend, the valley is inhabited by demons. It made sense when you think of how, back then, the volcano was considered the door to the underworld, in various mythologies. The soil here is ancient, dating back at least 15,000 years to the period in which the Ellitico Crater was formed. The wines from this vineyard are usually supple, smooth and expressive, with earthy aromas reminiscent of roots, and subtle complexity of ancient loam.
  
  This wine is a blend of 94% Nerello Mascalese and 6% Nerello Cappuccio, coming from a 1.5 hectare parcel at around 650 metres above sea level. The vines are more than 70 years old. The wine is aged for 18 months in used 2600 litre oak casks, and some bottle aging before release.
  
  In this wine you will notice an animalistic gamey aroma, almost like raw red dry-aged meat, mixed in with bright cherry fruit. It really portrays the profile of autumn, with the fallen leaves and earthiness, and slight petrichor. It hints at a more elegant style, harmonious and with real finesse, crunchy yet juicy, but then you get the meatiness of the mid palate with juicy acidiy and satiny tannins that are rather Nebbiolo-like, leading up to a fragrant finish with very good length. This comfortably won WOTN (or rather ‘WOTD’ since the tasting was in the afternoon), in a blind tasting scoring done by the participants present at the tasting.
  
  photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp9kKhZrkvY/

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  7/25/2021 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 92 Points

  Sprezzatura Etna Masterclass (The Manor Hotel, Amsterdam, NL): 5. A blend of 94% Nerello Mascalase and 6% Nerello Cappuccio, 1.5 hectare parcel at 650 metres a.s.l., 70 year old vines, aged for 18 months in used 2600 litre oak casks, 4000 bottles produced. Similar style to the Feudo di Mezzo, but with brighter cherry fruit at its core and a more elegant style, harmonious and with real finesse, firm but satiny tannins, fragrant finish with very good length.

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  7/23/2021 - Bathtub58 Likes this wine: 91 Points

  Decanted and consumed over 2-3 hours. This was ready to go right away and held steady. Moderate aromas of fresh red/dark berries and ash. Juicy flavors of dark red fruits and spice, with noticeable light-moderate tannins that enhance the profile, surprisingly. More elegant than rustic. Moderate complexity/finish. Enjoyable now, but it's structure makes me curious to see how this develops over the next 5+ years. But, at $61 the value is less obvious.
  
  Side-by-side: a step up from the Rina, but not worth 2x the price.

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  5/9/2021 - stet Likes this wine: 91 Points

  Color: light ruby, translucent
  Nose: cherry, fig, violet, a ton of volcanic minerals that come through as hot tires and asphalt. Licorice. Bit of oxidized apple and hints of caramel. Banana and tutti frutti just open
  Palate: high acidity, nice grippy tannins for a medium-light, terse body. Food wine. I get the flowers and asphalt mostly
  Finish: medium
  
  A towering volcanic minerality wine. Very impressive. Fruit in the background really. Makes for a fantastic pizza or eggplant pairing.

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