2021 Nerello Mascalese

Organic/Bio Russo’s Calderara Sottana is more red-fruited and open/fleshy than the darker, more intense, San Lorenzo. But there’s still plenty of intensity to the perfume and flavors and grip on the long, minerally,... Read More

Organic/Bio Only from Etna do you get this captivating combination of smoky volcanic rock and crunchy-ripe strawberry/sweet cherry fruit with mouthcoating tannins that give shape and elevate the flavors without drying you out... Read More

One of the best buys in Mt. Etna red we’ve seen in a while – and not just because it tastes so good. The ripe strawberry and tart cherry fruit shine brightly through Etna Nerello Mascalese’s signature smoky spice... Read More

Organic/Bio At just 1,800 feet elevation, the lowest of Passopisciaro’s Contrada vines grow on the last edges of Mount Etna lava. The vines push through the lava to limestone and develop more rich, round, textures than the... Read More

Organic/Bio Contrada Rampante is Passopisciaro's highest cru and, at 3,300 feet, at the very limit of where Nerello Mascalese can be grown. It's loaded with floral perfume and lifted by vital acidity, but the fruit - sweet/tart,... Read More

Organic/Bio With just 1HA of vines on the 2,800 foot elevation, lava-covered, Contrada Sciaranuova, Passopisciaro made only 165 cases or so of this in 2021. The name translates to new lava flow which covered the site in the 1600s... Read More

The steep vineyards on the north side of Etna get all the attention these days, leaving Terra Costantino’s wines from the eastern slopes nicely under-priced! I like the 90 point Vinous review here: “Smokey and earthy... Read More

Organic/Bio Just as in the rest of Europe, when phylloxera came to Sicily in the early 20th Century it devastated most of the region's vineyards. But two small plots of Nerello Mascalese on Mount Etna's steep slopes survived,... Read More