Etna Rosso: Panel tasting results

Anthony Rose, Susan Hulme MW and Jason Millar tasted 109 wines, with 3 Outstanding and 41 Highly recommended.

Etna Rosso: Panel tasting scores

109 wines tasted

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 3

Highly recommended 41

Recommended 49

Commended 11

Fair 4

Poor 1

Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit their red wines classified as Etna DOC Rosso, Etna DOC Rosso Riserva or IGP Terre Siciliane, made using a minimum of 80% Nerello Mascalese or Nerello Cappuccio

In his Native Wine Grapes of Italy, Ian d’Agata writes: ‘Prior to 2000, nobody talked about Nerello Mascalese, or Nerello Cappuccio, its stablemate.’ Today, he says, things ‘couldn’t be more different, and the Etna area has become, without question, Italy’s single hottest wine production zone’.

Whether or not intended, there is a degree of irony in the word ‘hottest’ here, because – with all due respect to the reality of climate change – the huge Sicilian mountain attracting publicity this year for puffing volcanic vortex rings is distinctly colder and wetter than the rest of the island.

The Etna DOC was established in 1968, but it wasn’t until the ‘noughties’ that it saw the widespread adoption of indigenous grape varieties, most notably the light-coloured, late-ripening Nerello Mascalese.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores from the Etna Rosso panel tasting

Barolo of the south

Among the pioneers was Barone di Villagrande, soon followed by Benanti, then a new wave of early adopters such as Passopiscario, Terre Nere and Frank Cornelissen in the north. This new wave turned into a tsunami as leading producers such as Planeta, Donnafugata and Gaja piled in.

Despite the unifying volcanic factor and the predominance of Nerello Mascalese as the principal red grape variety, the soils of Etna are a mosaic of terroirs at altitudes from 450m to 1,100m and differences in exposures on the north, east, southeast and southwest slopes.

Most of the best wines tasted here were the contrada wines: wines, that is, from the 142 districts (since nine new ones were defined in late 2022) that form a blueprint of a cru system on Etna. These are serious reds that can be enjoyed in the medium to long term.

It was gratifying to note that the wines with the best scores were from a mix of established names that helped put Etna on the map and new artisanal producers bringing new energy to the dynamic mix.

Etna has been called ‘the Barolo of the South’, and some of the wines here lent weight to the suggestion that Nerello Mascalese is the closest there is to Nebbiolo outside Piedmont.

Yet it has its own authentic identity with specific floral, spicy and herbal aromas and delicious red fruit flavours that underline its volcanic terroir. Equally, in some ways, it’s not a long way from Sangiovese or Pinot Noir in a structure marked by refreshing acidity and softer tannins (than Nebbiolo).

Stylistic variety

The tasting revealed a wide variety of both quality and styles, and different approaches to winemaking. Quality veered from ripe, creamy and polished to austere and not very well made, sometimes with aged, washed out flavours.

Over-extraction of Nerello Mascalese can result in fibrous, chewy, dry characters: an unhappy marriage of oak and grape tannins. There were faults, too: not just corked wines but oxidation, excessive or clumsy oak and brettanomyces. We felt that there is a need to focus more on charm and energy in the fruit, especially given the premium pricing of Etna.

See all the wines from the Etna Rosso panel tasting

From a vintage perspective, 2020 emerged as the best of the younger vintages, with plenty of bright fruit and charm, making for many aromatic and delicate wines. 2021 was a hot year in which the aromas tend to be more subdued and drier fruit. 2019 was a good vintage, albeit tending to be more angular and less charming.

There wasn’t much to write home about in 2018, because, unlike the wider European pattern, it was virtually a washout.

Overall, we took many positives from this tasting. Indeed, we believe it cements Etna’s reputation as one of Italy’s great terroirs and Nerello Mascalese as one of its highest-quality indigenous varieties.

Etna Rosso panel tasting scores

Wines were tasted blind

The judges

Anthony Rose is a widely published writer on wine and sake, including for The Oxford Companion. A DWWA Regional Chair, his latest book is Fizz! Champagne and Sparkling Wines of the World (Infinite Ideas, 2021).

Susan Hulme MW is a wine writer, editor, educator and presenter specialising in Italy. She runs her own wine training and consultancy company Vintuition and travels regularly to Italy’s wine regions. Now focusing more on her writing, she is Italian editor for The Wine Independent.

Jason Millar is a freelance wine writer, consultant, judge and communicator, with a focus on South Africa and Italy. He was formerly buyer and director at retailer Theatre of Wine, and in 2016 was the top WSET Diploma graduate worldwide.

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