Nerello Mascalese

Nerello Mascalese is the noble red grape of Mount Etna in eastern Sicily, the backbone of Etna Rosso and one of Italy's most distinctive volcanic wines. Late-ripening and thin-skinned, it makes a pale, translucent red — light to medium in body but high in bright acidity and fine, savoury tannin — built around red cherry, wild strawberry, dried herbs, blood orange and a smoky mineral edge from the black volcanic soils. Grown high on Etna's terraced slopes, often from old bush vines, it is one of the great expressions of terroir in the Mediterranean. Its perfume, structure and transparency draw constant comparison to Nebbiolo and Pinot Noir, and it has carried Etna from a forgotten blending region to one of the most celebrated wine zones in Italy.