Italiano
Etnadays Diary 2022 (1)
An intense press tour of Etna provided a full immersion into the volcano's wines and its varied terrain, where vineyards are extremely parceled out (only 15 wineries own more than 10 hectares of vineyards).
That Etna is a microcontinent is now a matter of course and accepted by all. After all, the volcano is such a particular and delimited terroir that it could hardly be assimilated with others. The opportunity to further deepen the knowledge with this unique area was offered by the Etnadays organized by the Consortium of protection to involve the Italian and international press.
The opening conference was very nice, where volcanologist Mauro Coltelli of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology explained the formation of Etna and its history, with the stratigraphy of the soils due to the different eruptions, and interesting was the talk by acheologist-astronomer Andrea Orlando, who spoke about the ancient rock palmenti present in the area since before the Greek colonization, witnesses of a very ancient wine tradition.
Completing the first day was the tasting of 79 wineries involved, which showed us how Etna whites are on the rise and reds are on the upswing, longer the way for sparkling wines and rosés.
But it was with the second day that we got into the swing of things with the start of the tours of the territory. Nice the idea of associating a guest winery with other neighboring producers in order to have an even more complete picture of the various contrade, it just needs to be "regulated" better, but at a first edition these details are gladly forgiven.
The day kicked off with a visit to the Terre Nere Estate in Contrada Calderara in Randazzo, where the dominus Marc De Grazia - among the "founding fathers" of the Etna renaissance - led us among the different contrade through tasting, a very interesting tour that showed how Feudo di Mezzo, Santo Spirito, Guardiola, Moganazzi, San Lorenzo, Calderara Sottana are not just names but different expressions of a great territory.
So we went to Nicosia, in Trecastagni in the southeastern area with the Monte Gorna, Monte San Nicolò and Ronzini districts. The fifth generation represented by Graziano and Francesco Nicosia skillfully manages a farm that has branched out to the Vittoria and Noto area as well, which focuses on sustainability by increasing organic practices (they have been certified since 2016) and biodiversity. Guests included producers Gumina, with Nicola Gumina who is experimenting with the world of sparkling wine with a Nerello base, Emilio Sciacca, who aims for natural and orange wines, and Monterosso, which takes its name from a volcanic cone with copper- and iron-rich soil and has its vineyards in the mouth of the ancient crater, with a wide variety of native free-range vines, centuries-old saplings.
From there we moved to Benanti in Viagrande, also on the southeastern slope, one of the great classics of the volcano, a company that was among the first to believe in this very special territory. Brothers Antonio and Savino carry on the work begun by their father Giuseppe, focusing increasingly on territorial diversity and the various districts. Guests at the winery are Cantine di Nessuno, where Sebastiano Costanzo offers really interesting whites; Tenuta Monte Gorna, with Sebastiano Licciardello, who has renovated his grandfather's vineyards to get off to a great start with his idea of Etna; and Oro d'Etna, with young Domenico Costa who juggles honey and wine with good results.
We then headed back north, arriving in Contrada Crasà, between Castiglione di Sicilia and Solicchiata, at Cantine Russo. Here Gina Russo and her brother Francesco, the fourth generation, devote themselves to the family business to show how in this particular contrada the soils (and the wines made from them) are different, mixing volcanic soil with clay sediments from the pre-Quaternary period. Our guest was the Scilio winery - Valle Galfina, which is the name of a contrada in Linguaglossa, with Luisa Scilio continuing the work of her father Giovanni, to whom we owe the family business's turn (since 1815) toward renewable energy, bio-architecture and organic viticulture.
Below are the wines that impressed us most on this first day of the tour, see you tomorrow for the rest of the journey.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Tenuta delle Terre Nere
Etna Rosso San Lorenzo 2020
97/100 - € 70
98% Nerello Mascalese, 2% Nerello Cappuccio coltivati a 750 metri in contrada San Lorenzo a Randazzo. Matura 16-18 mesi in barrique e tonneau. Rosso rubino chiaro. Naso complesso e intrigante con arancia rossa e cedro, mora e amarena, camino e spezie mediterranee. Molto elegante, ha densità e profondità, e un finale pressoché infinito.
Nicosia
Etna Rosso Riserva Contrada Monte Gorna Vecchie Viti 2016
92/100 - € 32
100% Nerello Mascalese dall’antico vigneto di Monte Gorna, uno dei tanti conetti vulcanici spenti della zona. Matura 24 mesi in barrique di secondo e terzo passaggio. Rosso rubino trasparente dai riflessi granato. Spettro olfattivo di buona finezza, con pot pourri di fiori, cenni speziati e balsamici, amarena quasi sotto spirito. Fresco all’assaggio, con tannini presenti nella morbidezza di fondo. Buona la persistenza finale.
Monterosso
Etna Rosso Sisma 2020
93/100 - € 38
Essenzialmente Nerello Mascalese con altre uve (anche Sangiovese e Alicante) presenti nel vigneto, da alberelli centenari. Acciaio. Rubino trasparente. Fragrante al naso con frutti rossi, lampone e ciliegia, muschio e una sfumatura di albicocca. Bocca morbida, rotonda, con una bella trama tannica e un finale avvolgente.
Benanti
Etna Bianco Contrada Cavaliere 2020
96/100 - € 38
100% Carricante di circa 50 anni dall’omonima contrada. Affina sui lieviti in acciaio per 12 mesi. Giallo paglierino verdino. Intenso e fine al naso, di bella complessità, con il floreale bianco della zagara, la freschezza fruttata della mela verde, erbe aromatiche. Al palato è agile e teso, verticale e salino, di ottima e lunga persistenza.
Cantine di Nessuno
Etna Bianco Superiore Milus 2020
94/100 - € 24
80% Carricante, 20% altre varietà bianche locali da Contrada Volpare a Milo. Matura 4-6 mesi in tonneau, poi acciaio e bottiglia. Paglierino dorato. Naso intenso e pulito con toni floreali di camomilla, erbe aromatiche, pepe bianco, cenni gessosi e agrumati di cedro. Bocca piena e ampia nella sua verticalità, avvolgente, ma anche di grande acidità e salinità. Finale salmastro molto lungo.
Tenuta Monte Gorna
Etna Rosso Akis 2020
94/100 - € 22
Selezione di uve Nerello Mascalese e Nerello Cappuccio coltivate sul versante sudest a 760 metri. Matura in barrique per 6-8 mesi. Rosso rubino intenso. Buona complessità con note balsamiche, di pepe verde, frutti di bosco. Molto piacevole all’assaggio, con note calde e avvolgenti e tannini domati. Saporito il finale.
Cantine Russo
Etna Rosso Contrada Crasà 2015
93/100 – € 18
80% Nerello Mascalese, 20% Nerello Cappuccio dall’omonima contrada. Matura 12 mesi in barrique e tonneau e un anno acciaio. Rosso rubino. Impatto olfattivo su toni scuri di tè e spezie, poi emerge il fruttato di ciliegia, visciola, fichi secchi. In bocca è fresco, con una piacevole trama tannica, succoso e persistente su una nota di caffè.
