2025 Giovanni Rosso Etna Bianco DOC, Sicily

The 2025 Etna Bianco is sweetly spiced and floral, delivering crushed peaches with hints of tangerine, citrus zest and raw almond. Tropical inner florals complicate pretty, ripe orchard fruits and green melon. This concludes with admirable length, pinching tension and a lemony concentration.

92 points Eric Guido, Vinous September 2026

Giovanni Rosso may be rooted in Serralunga d’Alba, but Davide Rosso’s fascination with great vineyard sites eventually carried the family south to Mount Etna. The Sicilian project began with vineyards on the volcano’s northern slopes, applying the same site first philosophy that shapes the family’s Barolo. It is quite a geographical leap from Piedmont, but the attraction is easy to understand: altitude, old vines and extraordinary volcanic soils.

Etna Bianco is centred on Carricante, the great white grape of the volcano. High elevation vineyards, large swings between daytime and nighttime temperatures and Etna’s mineral rich lava soils give the variety its characteristic combination of citrus, acidity and salty, smoky complexity. The 2025 captures the fresher side of the style, but there is enough substance and structure to make it much more than a simple young white.

Pale straw with lemon, green apple and white peach, followed by grapefruit and a little pear. Citrus blossom and fennel add fragrance before crushed rock and a faint smoky note appear. The palate is taut and energetic, with lemon and orchard fruit wrapped around bright acidity and a lightly textured core. Grapefruit, almond and saline volcanic notes stretch through the dry, mouthwatering finish.

Chargrilled octopus with lemon and oregano makes perfect sense here, while spaghetti alle vongole, grilled swordfish with capers, prawns with garlic and chilli or roast cauliflower with almonds and tahini all suit its citrus and saline personality. Seafood and Etna Bianco rarely need much persuading to become friends.

Cellaring: Drink now to 2033.