N'Anticchia 2009 Etna Rosso DOC - Pietro Caciorgna

N'Anticchia 2009 – Pietro Caciorgna

N'Anticchia is the Etna Rosso released under the Pietro Caciorgna name, the Sicilian project of Tuscan winemaker Paolo Caciorgna, who discovered the volcano in the mid-2000s and bought some old vineyards there. The name means "just a little" in Sicilian dialect.

The grapes come from Etna's north slope, from bush-trained vines at 700 to 800 metres in the districts of Castiglione di Sicilia and Randazzo. The vines are very old, some pre-phylloxera and on their own roots, on volcanic sands. The wine ages in French oak, half new and half second-use, and rests a few months in bottle before release.

Fifteen years on, the 2009 shows a fully evolved Nerello: ripe red fruit, blood orange, ash, Mediterranean herbs and spice, with tertiary notes of leather and forest floor, fine tannins and the savoury character of mountain reds. A rarity for lovers of aged Etna; with pigeon, lamb or mushrooms.

At a glance: Nerello Mascalese 95%, Nerello Cappuccio and other native grapes 5% · 13.5% ABV · 0.75 l · Pietro Caciorgna, Etna (CT)