Floral and juicy, with typical nerello mascalese flavors of dark plum, cherry, dried thyme and lavender, Ghaia Nera offers a great entry point to Etna Rosso.
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Sicily’s star is ascendant in the wine community, and it seems that when anyone looks at Sicily these days, their eyes are immediately drawn to the island’s most prominent topographic feature, the great volcano Mount Etna. Etna wines are almost as hot as the lava inside that peak, metaphorically speaking. Sicily has been well known as a major source of Italian wine forever, but until relatively recently it was viewed as a producer of bulk wines for export or cheap everyday wines. With the revolution in quality that has taken place on the island in the past decade, though, that reputation has been turned on its head, and Sicilian wines are being sought out by wine buyers and consumers—none more so than the wines of Etna.
The Tasca d'Almerita family, one of Sicily's oldest and most esteemed wine families, is now led by seventh generation Alberto Tasca. The family, who has been making wine across Sicily for over 200 years, is a leading producer of Etna wines at its Tenuta Tascante estate (the name is a portmanteau of Tasca and Etna). The estate was founded in 2007 with the purchase of two vineyards in the communes of Castiglione di Sicilia and Randazzo on the north face of the volcano. The northern exposure is a cool-climate area, due to the combination of elevation and less direct sun, which helps to retain acidity in the wines.
The Tasca family currently owns four parcels, located in the contrade of Pianodario and Sciaranova in Randazzo, and Rampante and Grasà in Castiglione. (A contrada is a small subdivision of a commune, based on various defining criteria such as elevation, cultural/historical significance, or the age of past lava flows.) The vineyards are mostly at elevations of 2,450 to 2,600 feet (750–800 meters) on the 11,000-foot mountain. All are certified as sustainable under SOStain, a Sicilian-based program that rates wineries and vineyards based on their impact on the environment, in conjunction with the Italian Ministry of the Environment’s VIVA indicators of sustainability.
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LOCATIONWINERY: Castiglione di Sicilia (Catania province), Sicily VINEYARD: Mount Etna, Sicily VIEW IN GOOGLE MAPS REGION DETAILS |
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92
OCTOBER 2020
Tenuta Tascante “Ghiaia Nera” Etna DOC 2017
![]() Floral and juicy, with typical nerello mascalese flavors of dark plum, cherry, dried thyme and lavender, Ghaia Nera offers a great entry point to Etna Rosso. 92
JUNE 2024
Tenuta Tascante Contrada Sciaranuova Etna DOC 2020
![]() The 2020 Etna Rosso Contrada Sciaranuova is perfumed with a dark and dusty blend of dried roses, blood orange, ash, black cherries and earth tones. It’s silky and enveloping, with a core of seductively ripe red and blue fruits complicated by hints of sage and flinty stone. The 2020 maintains a wonderfully juicy and spry persona, tapering off long and staining yet not excessively tannic. Licorice and citrus tones hang around on the finish. 90
JUNE 2022
Tenuta Tascante Contrada Sciaranuova Etna DOC 2017
![]() DECANTER WORLD WINE AWARD 2022 SILVER MEDAL. Mineral profile on the nose, smoked berries and a hint of fresh strawberry with autumn leaves. Pretty juicy tannins. 92
SEPTEMBER 2023
Tenuta Tascante Contrada Sciaranuova Etna DOC 2019
![]() The 2019 Etna Rosso Contrada Sciaranuova is darkly alluring yet perfumed, showing cedar and wild herbs giving way to crushed black cherries. This is elegant and refined, with polished red and blue berry fruits carried across a core of vibrant acidity as fine-grained tannins slowly mount toward the close. It leaves a slight balsamic tinge to linger while tapering off lightly structured and with medium length as echoes of licorice fade. 94
OCTOBER 2021
Tenuta Tascante Contrada Sciaranuova Etna DOC 2017
![]() The Tenuta Tascante 2017 Etna Rosso Contrada Sciaranuova also comes from the Randazzo village, where the volcanic geology is quite complex, with new and ancient lava flows that crisscross and where viticulture transitions to important pistachio nut farming. This delicate wine opens to a mild ruby color and offers pretty notes of wild plum, dark cherry, tarry smoke and campfire ash. And yes, there is a distinctive touch of toasted nut or pistachio. The tannins are firm in this wine, revealing important staying power to the palate. Serve it with a cheese-and-honey platter with slices of fresh bread and savor those nutty notes. 94
AUGUST 2022
Tenuta Tascante Contrada Pianodario Etna DOC 2019
![]() A lovely nose of fresh red cherry, rose petal and grated nutmeg. Medium-to full-bodied with zesty acidity and silky tannins. Juicy. Well balanced and bright, with very good length and subtle concentration. Best after 2024. 96
JANUARY 2020
Tenuta Tascante Contrada Pianodario Etna DOC 2016
![]() Underbrush, wild berry, blue flower, camphor and wet stone aromas lift out of the glass. The smooth palate is loaded with finesse, delivering succulent red cherry, strawberry compote, blood orange, star anise and a hint of tobacco framed in taut, polished tannins. Bright acidity keeps it beautifully balanced, and a tangy mineral note graces the close. Drink 2023–2036. 93
SEPTEMBER 2023
Tenuta Tascante Contrada Rampante Etna DOC 2019
![]() The 2019 Etna Rosso Contrada Rampante is remarkably pretty, wafting up from the glass with dusty rose and cherry complicated by ashen stone. It soothes with its silky textures and ripe red berry fruits. Vibrant acidity maintains a lovely energy throughout. Fine tannins linger, flexing its youthful structure as the 2019 finishes potent yet fresh and wonderfully perfumed. This is a beautiful interpretation of Rampante fruit. |