Etna Rosso Nerello Mascalese Blend

[My notes for Etna Rosso (not Rosato)] Bright pale ruby. Strawberry gummy bear, bubble gum, rhubarb, red currant, cranberry and blueberry jam, heirloom tomato, strawberry creamsicle, white pepper, pomegranate, flinty minerality, smoke and ashes, fresh jasmine, black tea leaves, high acidity, medium/medium+ diffuse tannins.

Rose petals and dried herbs with a big aroma of rich cherry and balsamic. Comes off very rich and a little boozy (vintage?), much more than Benanti. Some astringency too for a wine usually very well balanced. Still a hallmark producer for Etna wine. Maybe a little time to rest would do well

Notes from 24H open.

Nose has ripe strawberry, charred oak and warmed cherries.

Palate has mix of fresh & dried cherries, (light) green herbs and dry crushed rocks.

A decent wine, but the stated ABV of 13.5% feels like a falsity, initial aromas are heavy alcohol followed by red fruits, not entirely attractive to this taster.

Alcohol is overpowering.

Good Sicilians are not hard to come by but this blend is a really cool one: 95% Nerello mascalese, 5% Nerello cappuccio.

Every time I have a mascalese I ask myself why I don’t drink them more. Dried red fruits and rich cherries. It’s dark but light and fresh, a bouncy springiness that lifts flavors right onto the palate.

The value for the price is an easy sell.

Delicious smooth pinot noir like. Subtle.

Delicate and complex

Cherry. Red fruits. Neutral oak. Really solid.

Medium bodied Sicilian red. Dried strawberries and crushed herbs. A bit of smokiness. Always pleasing.

Young light red, dark berries, rounded out with gentle balanced acid and tanins