Rosato From The Slopes Of Mt. Etna

I recently attended a wine event in Beverly Hills, a very informative master class on the Abruzzo region of Italy. The talk was delivered by Jeremy Parzen, a wine writer who never fails to capture the imagination in his Do Bianchi blog.

As it happened, my wife went shopping at Eataly while I was occupied, which meant I would miss out on one of my favorite shopping excursions, Italian wine. I asked her to pick up a couple of bottles for me. She asked, "What would you like?" I told her to go with her feelings. She didn't pick up any wine from Abruzzo, but that's okay since I was tasting plenty of it at Jeremy's event. One of the wines she selected was from Sicily.

The Benanti family pioneered Etna wine and today they make what respected reviewers call some of the best wines in Italy. They champion indigenous grapes like Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio, and Carricante, and farm them under organic practices. 

The 2022 Benanti Etna Rosato was made from 100% Nerello Mascalese red grapes which were grown on the southeastern slope of the Mt. Etna volcano. After a cold maceration and a soft pressing, they were vinified in stainless steel tanks, then left to sit on their lees with no skin contact. Alcohol rests at 12.5% abv and the bottle cost $27 at Eataly in Los Angeles. 

This wine has a dusty rose color, darker than pink but lighter than red. The nose was a surprise, and not a particularly good one. There was hardly any fruit to speak of at all. The dominant aroma was a funky, barnyard sort of smell. On the palate there were flavors of cherry and Meyer lemon, with a savory overlay and a ton of salinity. If you can get past the first whiff, the taste is a treat. Mine paired very well with a spicy soppressata, some cheese, and an onion focaccia bread.

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