2020 Graci, Terre Siciliane IGT Rosso, Barbabecchi, Quota 1000, Sicily, Italy.
It was a pleasure, over the course of a few days in New York and Chicago, to full explore he lineup of current releases of Graci and meet the winemaker Alberto Graci, who guided me through his selections with equal parts of intensity and patience, with his Enta IGT Rosso Contrada Barbabecchi, an all Nerello Mascalese cuvée, being my favorite with its depth and elegance blowing me away. This 2020 vintage shows off Etna at its Burgundy meets the volcano best with a dark ruby hue, delicate florals and iron laced mineral tone leading in the glass, with a fine medium bodied palate of flinty red fruits, exotic spices, tarry licorice and a subtle cedary wood frame adding to the vinous pleasure here. Smoky raspberry, strawberry and cherry fruits come though with air, along with a faint background of lilac, gunpowder, coffee grinds, truffle and candied orange peel. The tannins are refined and the high elevation acidity keeps things wonderfully balance, and as much as I love the wines of Salvo Foti, this has to be one of my all time favorite Etna wines! Coming from a Contrada or vineyard of mature vines high above Passopisciaro, on Mount Etna’s north side, the grapes here, 100% Nerello Mascalese, are careful sorted and gently crushed with full de-stemming and macerated at cool temps, just from the natural conditions here, in vat, then after fermentation the wine is aged for 24 months in used oak conical barrels. This Barbabecchi is really something extraordinary, divine in every way, and a wine to search out, especially those that are Etna fans and I recommend not missing a single wine from Graci, when available!
Graci, led by the talented Alberto Aiello Graci, is situated on the north slope of Mount Etna at Passopisciaro, which is located in a historical area where viticulture dates back several thousand years. Their vineyards sit at an altitude between 600 and 1,000 meters above sea level on the volcanic soils, getting the cooling influences and the mineral intensity of tis unique terroir on Europe’s most active volcano. Graci is very passionate about his region and in his respect for local traditions as well as the distinct nature of each vintage and only cultivates traditional varieties indigenous to Mount Etna. The red grapes here include Nerello Mascalese, the main focus of the winery, and Nerello Cappuccio, and white grapes, such as Carricante, that Graci believes is one of the world’s greatest white varietals, and Catarratto. The cellar work here is clearly non Intervention of any kind, whenever possible, with Alberto seeking the most natural expressions as he can, as this glorious Contrada Barbabecchi shows. Graci says the vineyard site is 1,000 meters high, or about 3,300 feet, the upward limit at which Nerello can ripen, and is Interspersed with olive and apple trees, as well as birds, bees and bugs, that fill the air with what he calls an industrious series of chirps and hums. This is a place, he continues, where it’s possible to have a balance between elegance and rusticity, which is a sensation that is hard to find anywhere place else in the world. A big thank you to importer Massanois, who was gracious enough to let me have so much access to Graci and his wines. I was impressed, again with the while collection from Graci, and I must say also the whites, especially the Graci 2023 Etna Bianco Muganazzi, all Carricante, are almost equally amazing to the reds.
($149 Est.) 97 Points, grapelive