2016 Pietradolce Etna Rosso DOC Barbagalli, Sicily

100% Nerello Mascalese, pre-phylloxera, 80-100 years old.

Grapes are harvested by hand, left to macerate on skins fir 18 days then soft pressed. Aged 20 months in fine grain French iak barrels. Natural malolactic fermentation.

Always one of my favorite wines from Etna, the 2016 Etna Rosso Barbagalli represents another terrific installment to this top-shelf expression from Michele Faro and the team at Pietradolce. From ancient pre-Phylloxera vines in a small amphitheater-shaped vineyard near the highest part of the appellation, this wine is marked by a subtle softness and richness of texture that you don't always find in high-altitude old vines. The wine demonstrates, without a shadow of doubt, that these vines still have loads of energy and electricity running though that old wood. I like to imagine that the vines' root systems tap into the heart of the volcano, soaking up that enormous power and intensity and delivering it to your glass.

Aromas of cherries and blackberries with tea, as well as spice and almond undertones. Full-bodied, chewy and tannic with dried-berry, mineral, pumice and charcoal undertones to the fruit flavors. Burnt citrus, too. A powerful and structured red from ancient vines. Drinkable now, but better after 2021.