Nerello

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.

Our tasting note for the 2006 described Mouchão as one of the great Portuguese wines. This release proves that standards remain as high as ever at the Richardson family’s resolutely old-school winery in the Alentejo, a region better known for the production of corks. Numerous factors contribute to the alchemy taking place at Herdade do Mouchão, one being an allegiance to Alicante Bouschet, which excels in the vineyards and under (the operative word) a regime of foot-treading twice daily in the winery.

Aromas of spice, dried herbs and blackberry radiate from the glass. Theres a meaty quality to the nose too, which I love. The palate is equally opulent, with a structure that promises longevity but seduces now. A wine to set pulses racing.

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

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