A smoky, slightly vegetal aroma sets the stage for this terrific Etna Rosso. The red fruit is sweet and focused, and there’s a note of bitter cocoa, or cocoa nibs, that for me seems utterly typical of Nerello Mascalese. The tannins are refined and nicely balanced with the mineral finish. Organically produced.
Food Match: Game
2009 Nicosia Fonda Filara Etna Rosso, Etna, Sicily
( £11, 13%, The Wine Society )Nicosia are making some of the best value Etna Rosso available, and this is a terrific effort. Sweet, red fruit and herbal notes are underpinned by a seductive texture, fine-grained tannins and a fresh, saline finish. This is a steal at £10.95
2008 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso “Santo Spirito”, Etna, Sicily
( £22, 14%, Justerini & Brooks )The Santo Spirito vineyards are situated between 650-700m above sea level. This Nerello Mascalese is bursting with blueberry/black cherry fruit – so much so that the spicy, smoky oak influence takes a back seat. Santo Spirito is a big wine though, and still a baby at four years old. Some might say it’s an international style, yet there’s that typical Salty Etna tang on the finish. Organically certified.
2009 Cottanera Fatagione IGT Sicilia, Etna, Sicily
( £16, 13.5%, AG Wines, Astrum )Nerello Mascalese can suffer from a lack of “stuffing”, particularly as it ages. Cottanera have created a blend with 15% of international varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot), which definitely adds fruit and richness to this easy-going cuvee. The fruit is leathery, backed up by taut tannins, and there’s an enticing spicy, vegetal note to the nose. Barrique aging has been well judged to round out the palate, without dominating it.
2008 Tenuta di Fessina Musmeci Etna Rosso, Etna, Sicily
( £36, 13.5%, FortyFive10º )Tenuta di Fessina’s winemaker Federico Curtaz is from Piedmont, and there’s definitely a nod to Nebbiolo in this wine. 15 months in French barriques has created a serious, age-worthy Etna Rosso, with smoky dark fruit, but plenty of freshness and the typical saline/mineral finish that defines good Etna Rosso. Above all, this is elegant and balanced, in the manner of a top-quality Barolo or a Nuits-San-Georges.
2010 Passopischiaro Porcaria Etna Rosso, Etna, Sicily
( N/A, 14%, N/A UK (Available from the winery) )Passopischiaro make no less than four single vineyard Nerello Mascaleses, and the range of flavour and character just goes to show how sensitive this variety is to the varying terroir in different parts of the Etna region. Porcaria is a vineyard at 650m, with a thin layer of lava on the topsoil. This is a monolithic, smoky and tannic wine, which nonetheless remains fresh and herbaceous – there’s a pronounced note of sage.
2011 Benjamin Darnault, Côtes du Roussillon Villages, Languedoc-Roussillon
( £10.99, 14.5%, Naked Wines )A heady, wild cocktail of Syrah and Grenache from the hills of the Roussillon region of southern France. Youthful, fiery, spicy, with notes of lavender, thyme, sweet red fruit and liquorice. Needs food, preferably rich food, to show at its best, but this is an unoaked star, with bags of flavour and focus.
2009 Paul Misset, Clos de Vougeot, Burgundy
( £72, 13.5%, Yapp Brothers )The bottle is ludicrously heavy, but the wine inside is very good indeed. Mid garnet/red in colour, complex, perfumed nose of red fruits, some Asian spices and a beautifully balanced, elegant palate with the stuffing to age. The wine is everything that the ponderous bottle isn’t. Impressive stuff from a lesser known name.
2009 Louis Latour, Clos de Vougeot, Burgundy
( ££££, 13.5%, Fine + Rare )Another winery that is in the running for my heavy bottle Burgundy award. Mid garnet/red in colour. The palate shows sweet oak, reasonable concentration, some raspeberry coulis notes and good acidity, with appealing balance. It’s more of a village level wine than a Grand Cru, but it’s still a decent Pinot.
2009 François Lamarche, Clos de Vougeot, Burgundy
( ££££, 13.5%, Fine + Rare )Better known for its holdings in Vosne-Romanée, this domaine produces densely powerful wines with a lot of oak. That’s the case here too: big, dense, low yield-derived Pinot with the barrel staves a little too dominant on the palate and a dry, almost Italianate finish. Not my style of Pinot.
2009 Leymarie-Ceci, Clos de Vougeot, Burgundy
( ££££, 13.5%, Fine + Rare )Mid ruby with a hint of purple. A muscular wine: big and bold and aromatic. But the oak seems excessive to me somehow, with lots of coffee bean and smoky oak that’s smothering the fruit flavours. The domaine could spend less on barrels and improve its wines in my view.
2009 Jean Grivot, Clos de Vougeot, Burgundy
( ££££, 13.5%, Fine + Rare )I am a huge fan of the 2010s from Etienne Grivot’s Vosne-Romanée-based domaine, so the 2009s inevitably suffer by comparison. But this is still a very good wine: quite oaky at the moment, but with excellent underlying sweetness, crunchy acidity and rich black fruits. The oak should intergrate over the next five years.