Girolamo Russo Etna Rosso 'a Rina DOC 2024

This Etna Rosso wafts up with a savory profile, mixing woodland berry with nuances of sage, wet concrete and a burst of tangerine. The nose shows tart cherry, pomegranate, dried herbs and a distinctive smoky minerality. On the palate, elegant, medium-bodied with bright acidity and good complexity. Flavors of red berries, cherry and plum, notes of leather, tobacco and crushed stone. Fresh and complex, with soft, velvety tannins, good structure and pleasant drinkability and a silky, lingering saline finish, reflecting the mineral intensity of Etna's volcanic terrain.

On Mount Etna's northern slopes, Giuseppe Russo tends organically farmed vineyards between 650 and 800 meters elevation, drawing fruit from multiple contrade including San Lorenzo, Feudo and Calderara Sottana. This vintage blends roughly 90% Nerello Mascalese with 10% Nerello Cappuccio sourced from vines ranging from 20 to 100 years old and rooted in ancient volcanic lava flows. The winemaking process follows traditional methods, including hand-harvesting, native yeast fermentation and aging in big oak barrels and concrete vats, resulting in a wine that beautifully balances elegance and intensity.

Each year more and more wineries creep up all over Mount Etna, once home to the majority of Sicily's winemaking operation. This fascination with Etna is a truly recent phenomenon and ultimately a boon for all of Italy. The one caveat to this flurry of investment is there must be passion, intention and thoughtfulness in the pursuits of these winemakers for it to really matter, and Giovanni Russo is beyond all of these descriptors. A classical pianist, Russo inherited his family's estate on the northern slopes of Etna just north of Passopisciaro and artfully molds his wines with elegance, delicacy and personality.