2021 Tornatore, Etna Rosso DOC, Sicily, Italy.
The dark ruby/brick hued 2021 Etna Rosso from Tornatore is made from Nerello Mascalese, about 90% and Nerello Cappuccio, about 10%, from vines on the northern slopes of the volcano, which promotes elegance and balance, as seen in this supple and refined example with a medium body of black cherry, spiced plum, guava, burnt orange and strawberry fruits, along with flinty mineral smokiness, wild sage, rose petals, anise and subtle earthiness. When they tell Etna reds drink like Burgundy, this is one to prove that point, its silky and lively in the mouth and has lovely length and goes wonderfully with a range of cuisine choices, including a spicy pasta dish that I accompanied it with. While a fan of Nerello Mascalese and the region, my experience with Tornatore reds is quite limited, so I was excited to try this one and I wasn’t disappointed and I can wholeheartedly recommend it, especially for the price.
Tornatore, led now by Francesco Tornatore, was originally founded back four generations ago in 1865, with vineyards based close to the municipality of Castiglione di Sicilia on Etna, has been on my radar for a few years now and many friends have sung the praises of this winery. For the Etna Rosso, the grapes were harvested by hand in small crates are brought quickly to the winery and are all de-stemmed, but not totally crushed, and going into concrete vats, where they macerate for about 12 days at cool temperatures. The winery says that once fermentation is finished, the grapes are left to macerate for a few more days after which they are racked and pressed using a traditional vertical press to used large oak casks, where the wine matures for about six months. The volcanic ash soils and cooler elevation and exposures on the northern side of the Etna region really give the wines a terroir character, in both the whites and reds, as seen here. Like I mentioned I hadn’t enjoyed too many of the Tornatore wines, except for the Carriante based Etna Bianco, which I loved, but I again am nicely impressed.
($30 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive