Wines of Etna

[Ryan_Kilkenney]

I was in Eataly yesterday and used this thread as a shopping list. I opened the Graci Etna Rosso with dinner - good stuff. Thanks everyone.

[Dennis_Borczon]

Love Etnan wines.

Obviously Terre Nere for lighter style. The contratas age well. I’ve had a couple with 10+ years. Passopisciaro wines are nice as well, including all the contratas, which are all very different. The Passopisciaro bianco is a bit unusual because its 100% Chardonnay. Some smaller wineries I like are: Vino di Anna (Anna Maartins), and Davide Bentivegna,

+1 on the Terre Nere. Just drank a Calderera Sottana 2015 this week. Awesome with pasta, crunchy red fruit, good but not screechy acid, well balanced package. Has a finish that does not pucker you up. Held off oxidation in the fridge over 4 days extremely well. These wines just kill tuscan sangios at a fraction of the price. I swore to never buy chianti again while I can get wines like these…

[James_Billy]

Thanks. How do they compare with Firriato le Sabbie?

Sorry to bump, but has anyone any opinions about this wine? TIA.

Really sorry, I missed this question. I was prepping for a London trip and then in London. I do not know the producer.

Appreciate your reply!

[John_Kight]

Calabretta makes terrific wines. The Vigne Vecchie mentioned above is superb.

This is one of my “go to” wines, and rather unique compared to the typical Nerello wines in that they are released late with a fair amount of development to them. (Not sure if that is due to extended barrel aging, or just the bottle age.) Most of these wines (e.g. Passopisciaro) seem intended to show off a clarity of the unique Nerello fruit flavor, whereas the Calabretta is something different, and for me is ultimately more satisfying.

[David_K2]

Love Etnan wines.

Obviously Terre Nere for lighter style. The contratas age well. I’ve had a couple with 10+ years. Passopisciaro wines are nice as well, including all the contratas, which are all very different. The Passopisciaro bianco is a bit unusual because its 100% Chardonnay. Some smaller wineries I like are: Vino di Anna (Anna Maartins), and Davide Bentivegna,

+1 on the Terre Nere. Just drank a Calderera Sottana 2015 this week. Awesome with pasta, crunchy red fruit, good but not screechy acid, well balanced package. Has a finish that does not pucker you up. Held off oxidation in the fridge over 4 days extremely well. These wines just kill tuscan sangios at a fraction of the price. I swore to never buy chianti again while I can get wines like these…

I’m not sure I’d go that far, but the Etna wines do scratch the same itch for me as Chianti. I would agree though that the average quality across the board on Etna is higher and more consistent; Chianti, because there is just so much more of it, can really be all over the place with a lot of subpar wines. But the best of both are toe-to-toe IMO.

[Bob_Hughes]

I actually find Nerello Mascalese more similar in weight/palate presence to Nebbiolo from, say, northern Piemonte (think Carema or Boca) or Lombardy than Sangiovese. And I would certainly question Dennis’ comment on relative value - for example, most of the Passopisciaro Contrada wines are over $50 a bottle, and I’ve yet to buy a Felsina Rancia for that much money.

But I drink a lot of Italian red, and I personally wouldn’t replace any of my Sangiovese with either Nebbiolo or Nerello Mascalese (and vice versa, for that matter - diversity in the cellar can be a good thing ).

[Markus_S]

I actually find Nerello Mascalese more similar in weight/palate presence to Nebbiolo from, say, northern Piemonte (think Carema or Boca) or Lombardy than Sangiovese. And I would certainly question Dennis’ comment on relative value - for example, most of the Passopisciaro Contrada wines are over $50 a bottle, and I’ve yet to buy a Felsina Rancia for that much money.

But I drink a lot of Italian red, and I personally wouldn’t replace any of my Sangiovese with either Nebbiolo or Nerello Mascalese (and vice versa, for that matter - diversity in the cellar can be a good thing ).

Yes, the relative value is not there, as all quality areas in Italy now $30 up.

[Monica_Larner]

Another Etna producer that KILLS it, in my opinion, is Fattorie Romeo del Castello. They farm ancient goblet-trained Nerello Mascalese vines and a black wall of lava from the 1981 lateral eruption cuts straight through the vineyard. The crazy thing is that if you dig around the edges of that lava rock, the grapevines buried below are still alive and pushing through. The underground heat generated by that eruption was enough to push the stone farmhouse off its foundations, but those vines and their delicate root systems miraculously survived. They are imported by Louis Dressner in the US.

[Andrew_Ing]

I have not had much from this area. I took a case of Baileyana Firepeak Pinot Noir 2016 to a family beach trip this year and thought it was a very solid wine for a $20 pricepoint. My family usually hits the wine pretty hard, so I don’t bring expensive bottles.

[Michae1_P0wers]

Who do you think make the best QPR Etna Rossos? The Baudry or Prum of Etna if you like. TIA.

Slight drift here. I know the topic is Etna, but for pure value Cerasuolo and Frappato should be on your radar. I like Gulfi, COS, and Occhipinti a lot. The Frappatos are brighter, the Nero d’ Avolas are chewier, and the Cerasuolos blend those qualities into what might just be my ideal wine for pizza.

[James_Billy]

Thanks Michael, but I really prefer NM just as I much prefer Nebbiolo to Barbera or Dolcetto

[Steve_Slatcher]

… also, in your next post you mention everyone’s contrada wines… it looks like that basically means “village” in Sicilian… so its kind of like a basic “village” wine as opposed to the more specific sites mentioned above?

Matt, from my understanding, the Etna ‘contradas’ are former flows from the volcano, which are given names. I don’t think they are villages.

They are not specific to Etna or volcanoes, but are smallish rural regions that no longer have official status. (EDIT: I meant not for civil administration purposes. But they - or at least some of them - do have official status in terms of wine regulations.) Certainly the term is also used in SE Sicily in that sense, and maybe also on mainland Italy. I don’t think they necessary correspond with village settlements, but village conveys the general idea as far as wine is concerned, in the sense that they may be compared with Burgundy villages. They can also be sub-divisions of cities - in Sienna for example, where the contrade compete in the Palio.

(The quote tags got messed-up, so apologies for any misattribution)

[MChang]

Tornatore is a nice budget Etna. I think they pour it btg at eataly.

[R_Roberts]

I forget to mention Terre Nere! I have only ever had the basic Etna Rosso but I really liked it as well. Im curious from both of you, have you had the other bottlings (Sottana, PrePhyloxera, etc) and are they worth the price jump?

100% yes. I’ve tried most (if not all) of them in various vintages and while I absolutely love the base Etna Rosso, the Calderara Sottana, Santo Spirito, Guardiola, Feudo di Mezzo Il Quadro Delle Rose, and PrePhyloxera are all a big step up with more depth and complexity.

Also: in the past, their Bianco Vigne Niche was a blend of their Calderara and Santo Spirito crus. And it was excellent. But since the 2014 vintage they have begun to produce separate bottlings of the Calderara and Santo Spirito Bianco. In particular, the Bianco Santo Spirito is a gem and well worth seeking out.

I recently caught the Nerello Mascalese bug, searched for recommendations here, and found many folks recommending Terre Nere with your post being the most detailed I’ve found so far. Thanks!

[matthew_c]

Who do you think make the best QPR Etna Rossos? The Baudry or Prum of Etna if you like. TIA.

I think the Terre Nerre single vineyard wines offer amazing QPR - especially since I can find them at a steal of a deal with respect to the quality. I love these wines because they are fairly giving young, but with moderate age, are even better. Their Caldera Sottana white is also something of a hidden gem!

[James_Billy]

Thanks Matthew!

[Mattstolz]

Who do you think make the best QPR Etna Rossos? The Baudry or Prum of Etna if you like. TIA.

I think the Terre Nerre single vineyard wines offer amazing QPR - especially since I can find them at a steal of a deal with respect to the quality. I love these wines because they are fairly giving young, but with moderate age, are even better. Their Caldera Sottana white is also something of a hidden gem!

I would definitely agree with this. had Sicilian wine dinner a couple months ago and Terre Nere, Salvo Foti, and a Passopisciaro contrada were all represented in the wines, which were all fairly young (<5years). The Terre Nere was definitely the most open for business, but the other two may end up being the better wines in another 10 years

[Dennis_Atick]

Be sure to check out Girolamo Russo. A new fave of mine.

[John_Morris]

I, too, have liked most of the Terre Nere wines. They do see some new oak, and that shows a bit. I find it in balance, not a problem, but someone who is very oak-averse might not enjoy them as much as some other producers’ wines.