Graci Etna Rosso 2020
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James
Suckling - Decanter
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Robert
Parker -
Wine
Enthusiast
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Sicily has a colorful yet mysterious reputation, a land of vast diversity and contradiction. In no category is this more perfectly represented than by wine, with the inky, robust wines of western Sicily.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A pretty nose of roses, strawberries and garden herbs. Full-bodied with fine tannins and very precise intensity. Fruity. There’s a steely undertone here. Lovely. Drink or hold.
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Decanter
The estate red is fermented and aged in a combination of cement tank and large oak vats. There's a long period of skin contact - about 30 days - and no temperature control during fermentation. Traditional on paper, it's also traditional in the glass with its closed nose and austere palate. It has big structure but also plenty of freshness to balance, with some vibrant cherry, raspberry and black cherry fruits reined in my mineral tension. The finish is long and pure.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The entry-level 2020 Etna Rosso opens to a lean-bodied appearance with a dark ruby shine. This vintage presents a very expressive bouquet with redcurrant, sour cherry, blue flower and volcanic ash. This is a terrific introduction to the wines of Sicily's Mount Etna from one of the most talented winemakers on the volcano, Alberto Graci.
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Wine Enthusiast
A nose like a stick of Big Red gum with aromas of grass and dirt recalls a baseball game on a warm afternoon. The palate is alive with wild strawberry but also more notes of soil. Tightly wound tannins maintain depth and structure.
Other Vintages
2021-
James
Suckling -
Wine
Enthusiast
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Wine
Enthusiast -
Wine
Spectator
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James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker
Extending across the variable volcanic soils of the slopes of Mt. Etna at some of the highest vineyard altitudes in all of Europe—up to 3,300 feet—Nerello Mascalese is one of Sicily’s most noble red varieties. It makes a beautifully aromatic, firm, cellar-worthy but pale-hued red often comparable to a fine Burgundy or Barbaresco. Somm Secret—Nerello Mascalese takes its name from the black color of its grapes, nerello, and the Mascali plain between Mt. Etna and the coast where it is believed to have originated.
A large, geographically and climatically diverse island, just off the toe of Italy, Sicily has long been recognized for its fortified Marsala wines. But it is also a wonderful source of diverse, high quality red and white wines. Steadily increasing in popularity over the past few decades, Italy’s fourth largest wine-producing region is finally receiving the accolades it deserves and shining in today's global market.
Though most think of the climate here as simply hot and dry, variations on this sun-drenched island range from cool Mediterranean along the coastlines to more extreme in its inland zones. Of particular note are the various microclimates of Europe's largest volcano, Mount Etna, where vineyards grow on drastically steep hillsides and varying aspects to the Ionian Sea. The more noteworthy red and white Sicilian wines that come from the volcanic soils of Mount Etna include Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio (reds) and Carricante (whites). All share a racy streak of minerality and, at their best, bear resemblance to their respective red and white Burgundies.
Nero d’Avola is the most widely planted red variety, and is great either as single varietal bottling or in blends with other indigenous varieties or even with international ones. For example, Nero d'Avola is blended with the lighter and floral, Frappato grape, to create the elegant, Cerasuolo di Vittoria, one of the more traditional and respected Sicilian wines of the island.
Grillo and Inzolia, the grapes of Marsala, are also used to produce aromatic, crisp dry Sicilian white. Pantelleria, a subtropical island belonging to the province of Sicily, specializes in Moscato di Pantelleria, made from the variety locally known as Zibibbo.