2013 Ciro Biondi ‘San Nicolò’ Etna Rosso

Region: Etna < Sicily < Italy 
Grapes: Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Capuccio
Vineyard/Cellar Stats: organic farming, high-elevation OWN-ROOTED vineyards (2300m); Sandy, iron-rich, volcanic soils; aged/fermented in neutral barrel then bottled unfined/unfiltered; minimal SO2 added at bottling.
Winemaker: Ciro Biondi

This is a very special wine for the cellar. Ciro first started making single vintages of his Etna Rosso in 2012 to show the distinct personalities of each of his plots and their unique terroir, wildly different from one another despite often being right next door. ‘San Nicolò’ is a vineyard on the side of a spent volcanic from 12,000 year ago. The wine it produces is gorgeous, more feminine than the others, energetic, brilliant ruby in color, bursting with red fruit. Reminds me of a great Cru Beaujolais. Brilliant now but will age beautifully. I can’t wait to see how it evolves.