Thanks for this, I look forward to try them out.
I’ve been tasting and collecting Etna Rosso (and specifically Nerello Mascalese) for over 10 years. In that time there has been an absolute surge of wines from this region, and Faro, which is based on the same grape. Most of the wines are pure. Some do see a whack of new oak and feel a little more modern but not nearly as modern as a barrique-aged Barolo (as an example).
Anyway, here is a pretty comprehensive list of some of my favorites. I’ve done blind tastings with most of these wines. I’ve done dinners with some of the winemakers (Palari, Terre Nere). And I really think these wines have amazing potential. I’m drinking a lot of the '06 Terre Nere Calderara, and yes, it’s only 8 years in, but developing quite a nice complexity, and most definitely changing and evolving.
Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso
Tenuta Delle Terre Nere Calderara
Terre Nere Etna Rosso Guardiola
Girolamo Russo Etna Rosso A Rina
Girolamo Russo Etna Rosso Feudo
Girolamo Russo Etna Rosso San Lorenzo
Ciro Biondi Outis Etna Rosso
Palari Rosso del Soprano
Palari Faro
Passopisciaro Passopisciaro
Benanti Serra della Contessa
Pietro Caciorgna N’Anticchia Etna Rosso
Calabretta Etna Rosso
Murgo Etna Rosso
Antichi Vinai Etna Rosso
Firriato Paceco Etna Rosso
Bonavita Faro
Frank Cornelissen Munjebel Rosso #8
Caciorgna Etna Rosso
Pietradolce Etna Rosso Archineri
Graci Etna Rosso
I think the disconnect is that, for me, I don’t use the expression “a bit more modernish” (especially a bit more modernish than Calabretta Etna Rosso, which was the comparison I was making) as an insult or to suggest “spoof.” It makes perfect sense that you would need to clarify that on WB, though, given how “modern” is such a bad word here.
I also said that I enjoyed the bottles of Passopisciaro that I’ve had (the regular one, with the giant vintage year on the label, which sells for $35 or whatever). If I wasn’t as effusive in my comments, it’s because it’s been a couple of years since the last one and I don’t have an extremely strong recollection of it, whereas I’ve been drinking the Calabretta fairly often in the past year.
Thank you everyone for the suggestions. I need to start hunting around for a few of these to try. I only wish there were a bit more consensus around one or two bottles that I could focus on for my next step – any chance of that?
I only wish there were a bit more consensus around one or two bottles that I could focus on for my next step – any chance of that?
Here is my 2 cents for best in class, 10-12 to look for; some easier to find than others.
Elegant style
- Ciro Biondi Outis Etna Rosso
- Bonavita Faro
- Girolamo Russo Etna Rosso A Rina *the single vineyard bottlings have more density
- Terre Nere Etna Rosso *base model like in '11 and '12
- Benanti Serra della Contessa
- Calabretta Etna Rosso
Heavier style
- Terre Nere Calderara or Guardiola
- Passopisciaro
- Palari Rosso del Soprano or Faro
- Girolamo Russo Etna Rosso Feudo or San Lorenzo
Chris - no need to focus on 1 or 2. They’re all good (or nearly uniformly good across the appelation). And how come nobody talks about Faro anymore ![[tumbleweed.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/4/4b75c9b86b6bd5dcf67f51a91376f528b2e72ed3.gif "tumbleweed"){kind=small}
The Passopisciaro Rosso around $32.
The mid level Tere Nere wines around $35.
Thanks, Jeff. Did you put those in a rough order of preference, or are they just in random order?
Markus, I’d love to get to sit down and try a dozen of the best ones, but I don’t know of any such tastings, so “the journey of a thousand miles must begin (or, in this case, continue) with a single step.” The better my next few steps, the more likely I’ll keep going.
Sure Chris, no order of preference but if you put a gun to my head, I’d go Biondi Outis, Russo A Rina, Terre Nere Etna Rosso. Having said that, however, I’d be happy with any of my orig list. The wines that are on the higher density tip might even have more long-term age-worthiness.
Just back from a trip to Sicily and Mt Etna. Lots of excellent etna rossos , including Passopisciara… but my favorite was from cantine valenti. Their top wine, Puritani (100% nerello mascalese ) was exceptional. The vineyard is on etna’s north slope, and at 650m (exactly adjacent to those Passopisciara) is one of the highest in the region. Best of all…the wine is occasionally available on WTSO!
I guess they had them, 'til they sold out. WSPro doesn’t show that wine for sale anywhere in the USA.
Did you visit wineries, and if so, what was the experience like there? Have you been on wine trips to other parts of Italy, and if so, how did it compare?
+1 on Benanti. Visited there this past spring. The Serra della Contessa is definitely worth seeking out.
Okay, thanks to my chorus of WB enablers, I just ordered three Terre Nere bottlings: 2009 and 2010 Guardiola, and 2010 Feudo di Mezzo. Saratoga Wine Exchange in NY had them for $32@, so it seemed like a good next step for me.
Many of the ones recommended in the thread are hard/expensive to obtain, plus they are mostly on the east coast. The only place that has Benanti Serra della Contessa right now is $105, for example.
I visited a number of wineries and had a great experience. I’ve travelled numerous times in Tuscany and Piedmonte and the agriturismo business is much less developed in Sicily. Aside from the larger producers, it seemed that getting visitors was a curiosity to places like Valenti. Btw the us importer for valenti is superior wines in cranford, nj
Great start!
Just FYI, Salvo Foti’s wines are available on the west coast and aren’t too dear. Also, he is an agrarian consultant to a number of other estates, including Gulfi, Benanti, and ViniBiondi. Louis/Dressner imports his wines to the US, and you can read more about him here:
That is a crazy price on the Benanti. I am selling the 2004 in my Enoteca for $48.
I dig this thread.
Foti no longer works with Biondi, and I’m told he no longer works with Benanti, either.
In honor of this thread, I opened a 2008 Passopisciaro tonight with my wife. It was really singing right out of the gate, and didn’t lose a thing (or really change) over the evening. Intense, bright red fruit, some dried flowers, and a huge amount of spice, followed by a long, acidic and moderately tannic finish.
Modern only in the sense of being extremely clean, but no apparent excess of oak, ripeness, or whatever else. A really enjoyable wine that should improve for many years, I would think.
Thanks everyone for the encouragement and information.
Word is he’s focussing more and more on the Vigneri project. A handful of obscure God-forsaken places such as Salina or Calatino. His deliberately reductionist approach boggles the mind: just think what he could have achieved in the Langhe…
Thanks for the info, both of you.