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Girolamo Russo "'a Rina" 2021 Etna Rosso

Girolamo Russo "'a Rina" 2021 Etna Rosso

Regular price $44.00 USD
Regular price Sale price $44.00 USD
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750ml bottle

14% abv

Region: Sicily, Italy

Appellation: Etna Rosso DOC

Grapes: 94% Nerello Mascalese, 6% Nerello Cappuccio

Farming: Certified Organic

Age of vines: Planted between 1924 and 2005

Altitude & Soil Type: 715 M, volcanic

Typical Harvest Time: October 10-25

Maceration & Fermentation: 15 days maceration, controlled low temperature fermentation in steel and plastic tanks with indigenous yeasts Aging: 16 months in 2,500 L barrel, cement and used barrique

Finishing: Filtered with 10 micron mesh filter

Production: 30,000 bottles annually

All estate bottled fruit from a combination of Giuseppe’s different sites, roughly 90% Nerello Mascalese with 10% Nerello Cappuccio, all planted using massal selection. Vines range from 20 to 100 years of age, rooted in weathered volcanic lava flows on the north side of Mount Etna, head-trained or modified head-trained. Elevation is between 650 and 800 meters (2150-2600 feet) above sea level, very high for red wines. Yields are very low, less than two tons per acre; the grapes are picked, by hand in late October, brought to the cellar in Passopisciaro, mostly de-stemmed, crushed, and fermented using indigenous yeasts. The skins are macerated in the wine for a total of about ten days before pressing. Malolactic fermentation takes place spontaneously in the spring, when the weather warms up; the wine ages in 2,600 liter barrels and concrete tanks for about a year before bottling. 

Broad red color, looks rather like Grenache. Aroma and flavor of red fruits (red plum, sour cherry, et cetera), almond, herbal hints including mint, slightly floral. Broad and generous on the palate, with some fine tannins to balance the abundant red fruits. This will age for at least 5-10 years in the cellar, but it’s so good on release that I doubt I’ll be aging it. About forty thousand bottles produced in a normal vintage.

Giuseppe Russo had been studying to be a pianist when his father Girolamo died unexpectedly in 2005. He then came back home to Mount Etna to take over the family vineyards. Since that time he has been organically farming these old vines, some of them more than 100 years old, and he has restored the old cellar under his house. He has 15 hectares of vines on the North side of Etna, around the town of Passopisciaro, including pieces of some famous ‘contrade’, as the historic localities are known here. For Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo lovers, Nerello Mascalese is an exciting discovery. It can produce reds of impressive subtlety and structure, drinkable when young and even better with a few years of age. 

Giuseppe’s vineyards are planted on ancient lava flows called ‘sciare,’ which vary in age, mineral content and topsoil composition, with underground pockets that allow water retention to keep the vines hydrated during the heat of the summer. The solid rock of these lava flows breaks down over time, eventually becoming loose enough that a plant’s roots can penetrate. All of the Etna DOC is at relatively high elevation for red wines, more than 500 meters above sea level; to some extent the elevation counteracts the effect of latitude, in terms of the mesoclimate around the vineyards. 

Russo makes a range of Etna red wines, all made almost entirely of Nerello Mascalese. A’Rina is his estate wine, made mostly from fruit from his younger vines. Then he produces five wines from single ‘contrade,’ San Lorenzo, Feudo, Calderara Sottana, Feudo di Mezzo, and Feudo di Mezzo ‘Piano delle Colombe.’ Russo also makes an Etna Rosato from Nerello Mascalese and two Etna Bianco bottlings made mostly of Carricante, with other local white varieties. In the years that we have been dealing with Giuseppe these wines have gone from afterthoughts to excellent, and I find whites and rosés from Etna to be among the best wines of their type in all of Italy. 

Notes from the importer: Giuseppe Russo is a quiet thoughtful man, formerly a pianist. Since 2005 he has been organically farming his family's old vineyards, many of the vines around 100 years of age, and he is restoring the old cellar under his house. He has 15 hectares of vines on the North side of Etna around the town of Passopisciaro. For Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo lovers, Nerello Mascalese is an exciting find — it can produce reds with impressive delicacy as well as those with great structure. Russo’s a’Rina is a blend of grapes from younger vines. Vineyards are planted on ancient lava flows, all varying in age and mineral content. This red is juicy, complex, and delicious. Fabulous with pasta dishes, seafood, and grilled light meats.

 – Importer's notes

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