Etna Nerello Blends

10 top picks from a recent blind tasting

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Etna Nerello Blends These wines, generally from the Etna region, were blind tasted during my recent visit to Sicily. For several reasons Etna is proving to be one of the most exciting regions in Italy, and the fact that Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio are the driving forces behind these wines leads me to think we should be paying attention to these varieties and the blends they are used in.

As these wines were tasted blind it’s worth pointing out that some disappointing performances are simply attributable to the undeveloped state some of these wines were in. In many cases these wines will improve in the bottle, as Nerello-based blends have a proven track record for aging well.

Not all of these wines are currently available in all markets, as some were presented as pre-release samples, but the best producers have good track records and Sicily’s climate offers them generally consistent high quality fruit from which to make great wine year in and year out – with some exceptions, such as 2009, when significant rains caused distress among both the vines and the winemakers.

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545727
545727 Wines of-
Argentina

Hand of Snooth Voice of Snooth

545727 210

Excellent note and very good selection of wines of Etna. When I was in Sicily to visit, I fell in love with Nero D 'Avola until they drank the Etna Rosso also seduced me. So I can say that I have two loves in Sicily!.
I'm surprised that the selection is not the "Petra Lava" (http://www.petralava.it).) An exceptional wine from Etna, Sicily.

Greetings!.

Apr 21, 2011 at 4:43 PM
533661
533661 luca-
chevalier

Hand of Snooth

533661 2,455

...Great Greg now you have to try "a' Puddara" from Tenuta di Fessina!
(Carricante 100%)....
You may also find very interesting some wines from Tuscany from Villa Petriolo....(same winemaker of Fessina)....if you want i can tell you more, but remember when you were talking about "Bevibilità" or "drinkability"...

Apr 22, 2011 at 2:31 AM
562523
562523 lvcm

562523 1

If you will pardon my spelling due to the long time that has passed since I savored this excellent Sicilian wine.. I believe its SARAPRUTTA ?? or the likes of it. PLEASE ENLIGHTEN ME ON THE spelling AND YOUR INFO. ON THIS WINE THAT KEEPS COMING BACK TO ME LIKE A "Lost Love Affair" !! one of your most ardent fans. Lou timbaltimbalero@yahoo.com

Apr 22, 2011 at 7:59 AM
94571
94571 bill2810

94571 6

Pardon me for raining on the parade folks but, Greg, these descriptions of wines from a 2nd tier region made from 2nd tier grapes is as pompous and overly-inflated a presentation as the one you did on how to purchase wine in a restaurant.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Sicilian wines but these are good, solid drinking wines, some aspiring to something better. They're not 93 pts - 88pts "dry floral," "white pepper" "powerful finish" wines. (By the way, what the hell is the taste difference between white pepper and black...especially when hidden in a bottle of grapes?!!).

I sense the bombastic descriptions and outrageously high rankings must be designed to support the ridiculous prices for these wines. Nerello Capuccio wines uniformly selling at $50, $40 and $30+ per bottle?! As the Italians would say, "Incredibile!"

Apr 22, 2011 at 8:29 AM
533661
533661 luca-
chevalier

Hand of Snooth

533661 2,455

...Its Duca di Salaparuta...but this is the name if the producer, i don't know if they have something from etna..
http://www.duca.it/flash/index.html you will maybe find somethig Here....

Apr 22, 2011 at 9:42 AM