2018 Etna Rosso Riserva Serra della Contessa

Roughly 85% Nerello Mascalese, 15% Nerello Cappuccio co-planted in a vineyard located in Contrada Monte Serra, on the south-east slope of Mount Etna, at 500 m (1,640 ft). This bottling is from a small, pre-phylloxera, ungrafted portion of the vineyard with vines over 100 years old.  Sweeter on the nose than the 2019; peonies, a brush of cigar. Back to that very Nerello Mascalese apricot, blood-orange-stained acidity. Strata of flowers and striated stones, tannins that feel like satin and sand. Long acidity, long tannins, long reach, broad swirl, crushed plums and taffeta. This is very tactile, seems to ruche up in the mouth and give you more surface area of flavour. I love this one. It’s asking for your curiosity, for you to reach in and question and be there. Violets and punctuation. This has such a sweet heart. Kiss of red peach. Red cherry. (TC)

Dark and dusty, the 2018 Etna Rosso Riserva Serra della Contessa Particella No. 587 wafts up with unexpected richness as plum sauce and cinnamon spice combine with rubbed sage and hints of white smoke. This sweeps across the palate, soft, elegant and medium in body. A saturation of red and blue fruits drenches the palate in primary concentration while edgy tannins tug at the cheeks. The 2018 finishes staining and tense with notes of licorice that linger on, tapering away quicker than expected. It’s quite backward today and shows the lighthearted feel of the vintage, yet I can’t help but think that as its tannins resolve, an understated beauty will reveal itself.