This has a purity and focus with dried-apple and pear character as well as stone. Some flint undertones. Medium-bodied, it has tension and a solid core of fruit. Tight and precise. Lovely finish. Drink or hold.
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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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93
OCTOBER 2024
Tenuta Tascante “Buonora” Etna DOC 2023
![]() This has a purity and focus with dried-apple and pear character as well as stone. Some flint undertones. Medium-bodied, it has tension and a solid core of fruit. Tight and precise. Lovely finish. Drink or hold. 94
MAY 2024
Tenuta Tascante Contrada Sciaranuova Vigna Vecchia Etna DOC 2020
![]() The understated 2020 Etna Rosso Contrada Sciaranuova VV is dusty and floral, with an earthy array of flowery underbrush, ash and woodland berries. This is a model of purity, lifted and graceful in style, with brisk acidity and a wave of tart wild berry fruits that add tension toward the close. It tapers off poised, with extreme length and crunchy tannins as nuances of sour cherry and sage linger on and on. This is an incredibly pretty Sciaranuova. 92
APRIL 2025
Tenuta Tascante “Ghiaia Nera” Etna DOC 2022
![]() This is a large production of 85,000 bottles that sources its fruit from various plots planted in 2004 and 2007 at 600 meters in elevation on terraces made with volcanic rocks. The Tenuta Tascante 2022 Etna Rosso Ghiaia Nera offers focused fruit aromas of redcurrant and cranberry. The wine shows a dark ruby color and medium texture. Its informal personality would match a plate of home-cooked pasta or a wood-oven pizza. Aged in oak for 12 months, these results are charming and versatile. 93
MAY 2025
Tenuta Tascante Contrada Sciaranuova Etna Bianco DOC 2022
![]() The 2022 Etna Bianco Contrada Sciaranuova entices with a slightly reductive mix of candied citrus, crushed stone and mineral-laden peach aromas. This is creamy in feel yet packed full of tension, with saline-tinged orchard fruit and a pop of green-apple-like acidity. The 2022 resonates with zesty lime tones, crisp and medium in length, with subtle, lingering hints of raw almond. This is just the first vintage of Contrada Sciaranuova and the future is very bright. 93
MAY 2025
Tenuta Tascante Contrada Pianodario Etna DOC 2020
![]() The 2021 Etna Rosso Contrada Pianodario lifts from the glass with a mentholated freshness, mixing wild strawberries and herbs with pine shavings and chalk dust. It sweeps across the palate with ease, silken and serene, with cooling acidity and a tactile edge. A coating of grippy tannins, nuances of licorice and a touch of spice linger on as this finishes with lovely perfume. 91
MAY 2025
Tenuta Tascante “Buonora” Etna DOC 2024
![]() The 2024 Etna Bianco Buonora is a total pleasure to take in, opening with a whiff of sweet smoke and crushed stone, a dusting of confectioner's spice and notes of freshly sliced peach. It's round and playful in style with zesty acidity and crisp orchard fruits that pepper the palate with crunchy tension. Sour citrus puckers the cheeks as a resonance of candied lime lingers on and on. The 2024 aims to please. There's ample complexity here, especially for the price. 95
JANUARY 2025
Tenuta Tascante “Ghiaia Nera” Etna DOC 2022
![]() A very pretty, perfumed, young Etna rosso with plenty of fresh flowers, focus and finesse. Medium-bodied, it has fine tannins and a long, bright finish. Best ever? Drink now or hold. 94
MAY 2025
Tenuta Tascante Contrada Sciaranuova Etna DOC 2021
![]() A delicate blend of savory herbs, wet stones and wild strawberries introduces the 2021 Etna Rosso Contrada Sciaranuova. This is lifted and pure in style with nuances of spice and a tactile mineral tinge complicating its pretty red berry fruits. Cool-toned acidity refreshes the senses as grippy tannins linger and the 2021 finishes structured and full of tension, leaving a hint of sour citrus that puckers the cheeks. The Sciaranuova is the most complete wine in this lineup. |