2021 Pietradolce Etna Rosso DOC Santo Spirito, Sicily

A complex wine focused on licorice, a restrained smoky aroma and lively black-cherry fruit. Powerful on the attack with medium body, refreshing acidity and firm, chalky tannins, this has a ripe, long finish with good overall harmony. A wine to follow. Drink or hold.

94 points James Suckling

Clear ruby red with orange brightening on the rim. Multi-layered nose, lots of fruit, rose hips, raspberries and pomegranate, spicy hints in the background, pepper and some vanilla. More herbal notes on the palate, lots of juice, subtle texture, refreshing acidity and ripe tannins, persistent, mouthwatering finish.

94 points Falstaff

Santo Spirito is one of Etna’s most captivating sites, perched on the northern slope where old Nerello Mascalese vines grow through loose volcanic soils and cooling mountain air keeps everything tense and finely drawn. Pietradolce has become one of the great interpreters of the mountain, and Santo Spirito often shows the more graceful, aromatic side of Etna Rosso without losing that smoky volcanic heartbeat.

The 2021 feels beautifully alive from the outset. Wild cherry, pomegranate and blood orange lift straight from the glass, layered with dried rose, fennel seed and a whisper of sweet spice. Then the darker tones begin to creep in, volcanic ash, iron, crushed herbs and wet stone, giving the wine that unmistakable Etna identity.

There’s a beautiful push and pull through the wine. Bright acidity keeps everything moving with energy, while fine tannins provide shape without heaviness. The fruit feels vivid and almost weightless at first, then gradually deepens into savoury herbs, smoke and mineral notes that stretch out through an incredibly persistent finish.

This absolutely shines with food that has char, smoke and earthy detail. Grilled lamb cutlets with oregano and lemon would be superb, but it’s equally compelling with mushroom and pecorino lasagne, charred radicchio with balsamic and walnuts, or roasted cauliflower with smoked paprika and tahini. Even simple wood fired flatbread with olive oil and herbs somehow feels elevated beside it.

Still youthful and best with a little air, though the balance and structure here suggest a long future ahead, easily ten to fifteen years as the savoury complexity deepens.

There’s something completely magnetic about wines like this, all tension, perfume and volcanic energy, as though the mountain itself is still quietly rumbling underneath.