Tenuta Tascante: Tasca d’Almerita’s Etna outpost

Tasca d’Almerita, located on Sicily’s eastern volcanic edge, is one of the island’s most well known wineries, and yet it’s a relative newcomer to Etna. Founded in the 1800s, it was only in the 2000s that it initiated a project in Etna – one in a line of famous names attracted to Etna by its potential for producing Nerello Mascalese wines of supreme elegance, complexity and ageability.

The Etna DOC was created in 1968, but its vineyards were largely neglected before the turn of this century, when renewed interest was shown in the area. Today there are around 900ha of vineyard plantings, and 120 producers.

Tenuta Tascante

Tasca’s experimental vinifications in Etna began in 2004, leading to the purchase of two vineyards in 2007 (Contrada Sciaranuova and Pianodario – both discovered on the same day) and a further vineyard (Contrada Rampante) in 2015. All three lie in the northeast of the Etna territory, at 700-800m above sea level. The winery is located at Contrada Rampante, in Passopisciaro.

Twelve years after the purchase of the first Etna vineyards, the first releases of the Tascante range – the 2016s – have been launched.

Speaking at the London launch recently, Alberto Tasca was keen to emphasise the work that has gone into the project: ‘Truly knowing the character of a land, understanding its nuances, identifying its strengths and other more problematic aspects, is never easy or immediate. Sure, you can get an idea right away, but you need time to really understand the details. And details make all the difference.’

It’s certainly a challenging landscape. One of the most active volcanoes in the world, Etna has seen 30 major eruptions over the last three centuries. Vineyards cling to the steep slopes, planted on soils composed of pyroclastic material which includes lapilli, scoria and ash. The thickness of the soil in Tasca’s plots varies from a few centimetres to much greater depths, and the percentage of stones in the soil from 20% to more than 70%.

The company had originally rented vineyards in southern Etna, but turned its attention to the north of the district after suffering hail damage three years running.

The climate is continental, with Mediterranean sun, and a high level of annual rainfall provides the soil with the necessary water reserves. Ripening here is slow and very long.

The 2016 vintage

Cool and dry, the 2016 vintage was outstanding across Sicily, according to Tasca. ‘It was a vintage with abnormal climatic events due to unusual summer rains, but they did not hinder the health of the grapes or the quality of the wines, that turned out to be concentrated and fragrant, with good acidity.’

There are four reds in the Tascante range, all 100% Nerello Mascalese: three single-vineyard wines, plus an old-vine cuvée of the Contrada Sciaranuova. Around 5,000 bottles of each are produced annually.

Tasting the first vintage of Tenuta Tascante:

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