Nerello

The region of Etna, famous for its black lava soils and elegant red wines made from the Nerello Mascalese and Cappuccio grapes, has been undergoing a revival for the last two decades. Alberto Graci has been making wine at Passopisciaro, on the northern slope of Mount Etna, since 2004. He is fastidious in his approach to quality and prefers to work as naturally as possible. The vineyards are between 600 and 1,000 metres above sea-level and certified organic.

This very pale, slightly orange rose is made of 100% Nerello Mascalese, a variety often considered to be the Pinot Noir of Sicily. The fruit comes from Alberto’s Arcurìa vineyard located at 600 metres above sea-level, where the grapes benefit from cooler temperatures that slow down the ripening process. The wine is matured in cement tanks on the lees for six months, resulting in a serious rosé with notes of wild flowers and mandarin. Drink now.

Impeccably turned out, Alberto's wines reflect their creator. Petal-fresh, with a wave of molten strawberry and minty fruit, suave, so fleshy and yet at the same time delightfully mineral; at its core lie small, sweet, smoky cassis berries. As with the 2013s of the Langhe, Graci’s Etna wines have a sophistication and class which will only develop further. This is a perfect example of why the Nerello Mascalese grapes from Etna’s lava slopes produce Siciliy’s most exciting and refined red wines.

Since 2005, Sicilian Alberto Aiello Graci — aided by his sister Elena and mother Maria Adelaide — has been making refined and true Etna Rosso and Etna Bianco wines from 19 hectares of fruit grown on the still-trembling Mount Etna. More precisely, his black Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio, and white Catarratto and Carricante grapes are grown on two prime sites: Contrada Barbabecchi in the village of Solicchiata and Contrada Arcuria in Passopisciaro. The wines are traditionally made without temperature control, employing large oak and, where possible, wild yeast to bring out the full expression of the land.

Mount Etna is the perfect example of how nature can truly affect a wine and render it breath-taking. Alberto Graci has created his Etna Rosso using traditional methods that ensure high quality, but enviable yields. The indigenous varieties sing through, with Nerello Mascalese offering bright, vivacious red fruits, with an almost endless depth, tempered by a measure of Nerello Cappuccio that offers roundness, and a slight, endearing candied note, finishing with a creamy kiss of oak. This is a must for Burgundy lovers looking for something fun and vibrant, or, indeed, Italian wine lovers looking for the perfect wine to serve alongside a good roast or barbecue.
Tariq Khan - Wine Advisor

Grown at 600 metres above sea-level on rocky lava soils, there is a delicacy to the form of this wine that belies its concentration. Perfumed cherry fruit and citrus peel layer with coal and refreshing acidity. It’s very persistent. Drink 2018-2021.

The Barbabecchi vineyard is a two-hectare plot of 100-year-old Nerello Mascalese grown at its limit, at 1,000 metres above sea-level. Elegance and richness are balanced with layers of fruit (kirsch, blood orange and cherry pit) and more savoury notes (smoky minerality and tobacco spice). The tannins are refined and seamlessly bound with the fruit on the mid-palate. Delicious in its youth, this is definitely capable of ageing with grace. Drink now to 2025.

This single-vineyard wine, from a site just below Graci's cantina, sees Nerello Mascalese blended with a small proportion of the darker, more brooding, Nerello Cappuccio. Structurally, this wine is bolder than their entry-level Rosso or intensely decadent Barbabecchi, but it seduces with ripe, smoky berry fruit and complex finish. Drink now to 2020.

Quota 600 refers to Alberto Graci’s stunning and remote single vineyard of free standing alberello Nerella Mascalese vines, lying on lava terraces at 600 metres above sea level. This 2009 vintage is notably more nervous and tauter even than the fuller, lush 2008. This will really be worth the wait.
David Berry Green, August 2011

Also from the Arcuria vineyard, at 600-660 metres up the black lava strewn slopes of Monte Etna, comes this suave, effortless and limpid Etna Rosso, whose Nerello Mascalese fruit was harvested late on in the season, so imbuing with wine with (volcanic) minerality. Vinified only in wood, first in upright tini, then in 40hl botte grande, without stalks, there’s a minerally smokiness to the red/back fruit, being also gentle and fluid; indeed there’s a wave of red, peppery fruit, wrapped up in silky tannins. Molten! Drinking 2014 - 2024.
David Berry Green

Probably as a result of the thin air at 1000 metres above sea level, & aggravated by a tricky harvest, nature yielded a tiny crop so our allocation is a mere 36 bottles. The vines are planted on piede franco, low yielding ungrafted rootstock (as opposed to more vigorous American ones that most of Europe is planted on) and the vines are older than those used for Quota 600. Blended with 5% Nerello Cappuccio, the net result is a high tension, delicate, modest alcohol wine with great finezza and bevibilita (drinkability).
(David Berry Green)

From Alberto’s highest black lava-rock-strewn, one hectare vineyard, Contrada da Barbabecchi lies on the border between Passopisciaro and Castiglione, at 1000 metres above sea level, terraced and inaccessible to all but his faithful (and battered) Land Rover? The free-standing old alberello vines treat us to tiny quantities of the most exquisite fruit, whose wine has a darker, more mysterious, richly-structured character that conveys the chocolate dust, iron deposits in the soil.
David Berry Green

Formerly known as Etna Rosso Quota 600, Alberto has decided in 2012 to pinpoint the wine’s provenance on the label, hence the words ‘Contrada da Arcuria’. It still heralds from that lofty spot among the rocky lava flows, whose black, sooty soils contrast dramatically with the profusion of wild fennel that coats the volcano. These extraordinary soils, rich in magma minerals, appear to give a smoky edge to the loganberry, fleshy fruit, while remaining very precise and salty – a natural trait of the Nerello Mascalese grape.
David Berry Green

Mount Etna, famous for its black lava soils and elegant red wines made from the Nerello Mascalese and Cappuccio grapes, has been undergoing a revival over the last two decades. Alberto Graci has been making wine at Passopisciaro, on the northern slope of the volcano since 2004. He prefers to work as naturally as possible.

The Graci Etna Rosso is made of 100% Nerello Mascalese, coming from 15-year-old vines located at 600 to 700 metres above sea-level on the north-eastern slopes of Etna. The fruit undergoes a 20-day maceration on its skins, and is then matured in a mixture of cement tanks and botti grandi for 18 months. The resulting wine is elegant with a succulent nose of wild cherry, eucalyptus and blood orange. It is fresh yet enticing, with finely woven tannins and a smoky edge. Drink now to 2024.