This is a “natural wine” from Massimiliano Calabretta, the highly regarded Mt. Etna producer who specializes in organic and bio-dynamically grown grapes and artisanal methods of production, using native yeasts and long ageing in massive, Slavonian oak barrels like in the old days. (I found no information about whether sulfites are used in the production process.)
The vineyards are located nearly a half mile above sea level in the volcanic soils of Mt. Etna’s north slope. This is a multi-vintage (2009, 2008 and 2005) blend of 95% Nerello Mascalese and 5% Nerello Cappuccio.
The intense nose is loaded with dried cherry, dusty earth, and dried flowers. Wild herbs and a hint of volatile acidity in the background contribute to the complexity. The palate is vibrant but quite drying as it unfolds with clove and orange zest mingling with sour cherry. The fruit and spice hold steady and provide focus all the way through the finish as the tannins and acidity swell and spread like the incoming tide and then grips like bulldog jaws. The fruit is angular right from the beginning not even pretending to be smooth or lush. Its gritty, acerbic personality is redeemed by a layer of fresh juiciness. The whole experience is a sort of twisted pastorale that comes together when country outlaw Steve Earle buys his ticket to the Shadowland.
If you read many of my reviews you know I give points for character and originality. This wine surely qualifies.
First off, the grape variety Nerello Mascalese is one we see only occasionally in the U.S. Its home is Sicily especially in the foothills of Mt. Etna where it does well in the volcanic soil. Fruity and floral with a medium body but very strong tannins, they are rustic but full of flavor. I’ve had only a few but I invariable enjoy them for their unusual structure.
But this is not a conventional wine. Frank Cornelissen is more or less the “godfather” of what has come to be known as “natural wins”. A Belgian by birth, he came to the Mt. Etna region in 2000 because he liked its potential and immediately began to break the rules of conventional winemaking.
No sprays, chemicals or treatments of any kind in the vineyard, no sulfites or other additives in the winery, native yeasts only, no oak aging. The refusal to use sulfites was revolutionary and risky. Sulfites protect the grapes from oxidation and bacteria growth, and in conventional winemaking it is applied to the grapes immediately after harvest with repeated doses. But most natural wines use minimal sulfites and some like the Munjebel use none at all (except for what occurs naturally in the vineyard).
Natural wines are controversial, in part because the word “natural” is subject to various interpretations and there are no standards for what belongs in this category. But they have been on the market for several years now and are attracting attention in part because customers like the ethos of low intervention winemaking but also because these wines can be interestingly different. They surely reflect the terroir of their region since little is being done to the wine to mask their natural expression. The problem is bottle variation. With nothing to protect the juice, variations in the handling of each bottle may cause it to evolve on its own trajectory meaning that each purchase is a bit of a gamble.
I’ve tasted many natural wines but I was looking forward to tasting this one because of its reputation as the quintessential expression.
The first whiff was pure nail polish remover—volatile acidity we call it—a serious flaw if it’s too prominent. Happily, a few minutes in the glass allowed the VA to dissipate sufficiently to reveal an interesting but “funky” wine. Black cherry supplemented with crushed rock aromas are pleasant as are the herbal and black olive notes that give it complexity. They are highlighted against a muted “sweaty” background that develops into smoked meat aromas with more time in the glass. The mouth feel is buoyant and vivacious with a medium body and high acidity, but the tannins enter the picture early giving the wine an expansive quality with plenty of grit on the very long flavorful finish.
I tasted this wine over the course of two hours with plenty of time in the glass; it evolved and improved significantly with aeration.
If you’re adventurous I highly recommend this wine. It is an original although the cherry fruit and high acidity identify it as Italian—like a fresh Sangiovese but with more complexity and tougher tannins.
Score: 91
Price: $45
Alc: 14%
We need freaky folk music for this wine, Timber Timbre, Too Old to Die Young
For wine geeks, finding a wine that is both delicious and different is the very definition of a great day. Today is a great day.
I’m not sure if it is the addition of the fruity Frappato (40%), a local Sicilian grape which blends so nicely with the more structured Nero D’Avola (60%), the unique soils of Sicily, or the fact that the wine is fermented in concrete rather than stainless steel, but this wine is unusual without being odd or outlandish. It’s like an alternative kid—different but not too weird.
The wild nose of black fruits and bright cherries, fresh mushroom, dried flowers, and an electric smell like ozone (the smell the air has after a lightening storm) suggest power and novelty. But it is old-world delicate on the palate. The focused fruit flavors float languidly but gracefully to the surface, and linger in clean and transparent composure before finally giving way to fine-grained tannins that persist but never grip.
A medium-bodied, vibrant wine with an elegant mouthfeel, supple but lean like second-tier Burgundy but with more finesse and gravitas. This is a beautiful, beguiling wine that will enhance a wide range of foods.
Cos is one of the innovative wineries that is putting Sicily on the wine map. Many of their wines, although not the Cerasuolo, are fermented and aged in the (really) old-fashioned way—in amphora pots as the Ancient Greeks and Romans did. And the Cerasuolo is aged in old oak barrels so as to impart as little oak flavor as possible. As they use no filtering, no additives, and very little sulphur, their wines are often referred to as “natural” wines.
Cerasuolo di Vittoria is the only region in Sicily to attain DOCG status.
It is unbearably hot and muggy, air as thick and close as a strangler’s hug. Ideas don’t come so easily in this weather. They seem to slow down and fizzle without consequence as if the subconscious is too lazy to fill in the blanks. I need inspiration.
And it comes in the form of this curious grape—Insolia from Sicily. The few I’ve tasted have been unimpressive. But this one is so mouthwatering and fresh it rescued a faltering imagination.
Like most Italian whites it is reserved; aromas don’t leap out of the glass. But there is plenty of complexity if you seek it out. Citrus, mango, and wet stones predominate with flowers and pine hovering in the background. The palate is very dry, with a plump medium body and satisfying lemony finish. Think a shy Viognier with acid.
But what it lacks in big flavors it makes up for with brio. It is one of those wines that makes your mouth feel like New Orleans jazz—alive, spunky, always moving.
Insolia is one of the grapes used in Sicily’s most famous product—the fortified wine, Marsala. But now increasingly it is vinified as a stand-alone varietal. Sicily has an odd wine history. It has endless sunshine and good, volcanic soil. But for years it was known as a bulk wine producer supplying inferior wine at rock bottom prices or a source of sweet, fortified wine. Now it Sicilians are beginning to take themselves seriously as a wine region, and it shows in the quality of the juice they produce.
If you are looking for quality to price ratio, look to Sicily.
This is a “natural wine” from Massimiliano Calabretta, the highly regarded Mt. Etna producer who specializes in organic and bio-dynamically grown grapes and artisanal methods of production, using native yeasts and long ageing in massive, Slavonian oak barrels like in the old days. (I found no information about whether sulfites are used in the production process.)
