Erse Etna Rosso - A Smooth Sicilian • Reverse Wine Snob

A blend of indigenous red and white grapes from the slopes of the active Mount Etna volcano in Sicily, the Erse Etna Rosso from Tenuta di Fessina.

90% Nerello Mascalese (pronounced “Neh-rehl-loh” “Mahs-kah-leh-zeh”), 8% Nerello Cappuccio (pronounced “Neh-rehl-loh” “Cap-pooh-cho”) and 2% of the white varietals Minnella and Carricante from Rovittello, Sicily, Italy. The wine spends a year in the bottle before release.

Sample submitted for review. The Erse Etna Rosso has an SRP of $25 and is available for as low as $19.99. Imported by Vineyard Brands. 25,000 bottles produced.

From the winery (Tenuta di Fessina):

Austere and soft tannins. Round and spicy, Erse tells an old story about Etna winemaking, where for hundred years the red grapes have been mixed with the white ones, a marriage between indigenous varieties. A picture of our melting pot vineyard where tastes and roots are melted together, giving a feminine complexity.

13% Alcohol

Nerello Mascalese (believed to be an offspring of Sangiovese) and Nerello Cappuccio are both red varieties commonly found in Sicily around Mt Etna. Carricante is a white varietal that has been grown on Sicily for hundreds of years and is used in many of the white wines made here. Minnella is also a light-skinned grape, grown only in Sicily and at very small quantities. While it is a bit unusual to blend red and white varieties together, it’s obviously not unheard of (Shiraz and Viognier would be a good example.) And lucky for us, this traditional Sicilian mix is a delicious one.

The 2016 Erse Etna Rosso from Tenuta di Fessina opens with a very pleasing aroma of black cherry, baking spice, a little licorice and pepper plus a touch of minty lemon. When tasting this wine it needs some time in the glass to really open up but then it’s fantastic. Smooth, medium-bodied, with good bright acidity and firm tannins this is a wonderfully fun wine to investigate. Streaks of chalky, ashy minerality lead into the lovely, long, dry finish.

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