Etna Rosso

My favoured wine of the moment is the cumbersomely named Generazione Mille898 Etna Rosso 720 (2019) latterly available at Lidl. My experience of wines made from the traditional Sicilian grape varieties Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Capuccio was scant and far from recent. I had once been partial to Corvo Rosso which apparently includes some Nerello Mascalese, but that was decades ago. As it happened, I was delighted to find this Etna Rosso very much to my taste.

The blurb on the back of the bottle promises “a complex and intense nose of red berries, aromatic herbs and spices. On the palate it is robust, well-balanced and persistent [combining] elegance with a strong mineral touch typical for its volcanic origin.” Meanwhile, in a review at Decanter, Amy Wislocki writes of it having “spicy red berry character, some tomato leaf and an attractive earthiness. The minerality and slight tannic grip give a weight and structure that make it a good gastronomic choice…”

Lacking such discernment, I would have been oblivious to the wine’s “minerality” had it not been so prominently mentioned. I can sort of see what they’re saying, but it’s a characteristic so well-integrated into an harmonious blend of flavours that it certainly doesn’t obtrude: this is by no means an austerely “stony” experience. Where I once favoured very full-bodied reds, my preference now is for something a little lighter & subtler, and this is a wine that fits that bill very well indeed.