Tornatore Pietrarizzo Etna Rosso 2019 (750ml)

 

Rated 94 Points by James Suckling

 

Spice and dried seaweed with ash and earth on the nose, as well as red fruit.  Full-bodied with medium, round tannins and a savory finish.  Dusty at the end.  Delicious now, but will age nicely.

 

Rated 93 Points by Wine Spectator

 

A graceful, medium-bodied red, with bright acidity and fine, creamy tannins, which buoy a pleasing range of baked strawberry, star anise, graphite and red licorice notes.  A subtle overtone of herbs and mineral pushes through and lingers on the lightly chewy finish.  Drink now through 2032.

 

Rated 92 Points by Wine & Spirits

 

Red plum flavors show a pleasantly tart edge that’s balanced by dark tarry notes and tinges of smoke.  It finishes dry and savory, with an orange peel brightness.

 

Rated 91 Points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

 

The Tornatore 2019 Etna Rosso Pietrarizzo shows a sweet side with redcurrant and cherry that is enhanced by oak spice and mild toast.  The wine takes a rather straightforward interpretation of the grape with lots of primary fruit and a streamlined style.  The tannins are soft and the wine is accessible now.

 

Tornatore Pietrarizzo Etna Rosso 2019

 

Variety:  100% Nerello Mascalese

 

Production Area:  Castiglione di Sicilia, northern slopes of Mount Etna

 

Since the last century, the Pietrarizzo district has been considered by the natives of the area to be one of the finest crus.  The vine used is Nerello Mascalese arranged in terraces, vinified in cement tanks and aged in large wooden barrels.
 

Tasting Notes

 

Pale ruby ​​red.  Delicate finish and incredibly balanced on the nose.  There are evident hints of small red fruits, flowers, perfectly integrated with a minerality and evolution worthy of a great wine.  In the mouth it is of great structure but surprisingly drinkable and elegant.

 

Serving Temperature:  18°C.

 

Harvest Period:  Second and third week of October 2019

 

Winemaking System

 

After the grapes are harvested by hand in small crates they are quickly brought to the winery where they are manually selected on a belt-conveyor.  Then they are destemmed and not completely crushed, and sent to a truncated cone shaped wooden vat, where they macerate for about 10/12 days at a temperature of 22/25 °C.  On a daily basis, many times per day, the grapes on maceration are manually punched down with the usage of a pneumatic fulling machine.  After fermentation, the grapes are left to macerate for a few days more, then the wine is separated from the grape skins, which are pressed with a traditional vertical press.  The wine obtained is aged in wooden barrels of 25 hectoliter for 12 months before being bottled.

 

Ageing

 

More than 1 year in wooden barrels and in cement tanks and about 3 months in bottle.

 

Nerello Mascalese Grape Variety

 

Nerello Mascalese is a highly regarded, dark-skinned grape variety that grows most commonly on the volcanic slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily.  Its wines, which have had a rapid upsurge in popularity in the last decade, have a tendency to reflect their surroundings, giving taut, fresh red wines with fruity, herbaceous flavors, excellent minerality and an earthy nuance.  Nerello Mascalese wines often have a perfume reminiscent of those of the noble wines of Barolo and Burgundy.

 

The variety takes its name from the Mascali plain between Mount Etna and the coast where it is thought to have originated – a small portion of older vines predate the phylloxera epidemic of the 1880s.  The prefix Nerello refers to the black color of the grapes, and is shared by Nerello Cappuccio, Nerello Mascalese's most common blending partner.  Both grapes are found in Etna DOC wines, with Nerello Mascalese making up the bulk of the blend and easily surpassing plantings of Nerello Cappuccio (see Nerello Cappuccio – Nerello Mascalese blends).

 

 

Tornatore

 

Mount Etna DOC Wines

 

The beginning of grape cultivation, with the production of wine, brought forward by the Tornatore Family, dates back to 1865, when the great grandfather of the current owner began the farming activity.  In 1910 the Grandfather Giuseppe built a house with a millstone in the district of Piano Fiera with adjacent 2 hectares of vineyards in addition to other two hectares on the North side of the Etna, in the district of Piano Felci at 1,000 m above sea level.

The Tornatore family has always had a detailed knowledge of the territories of the town of Castiglione di Sicilia since Grandfather Giuseppe and Uncle Giovanni were appointed land registry makers at the beginning of the thirties, accompanying the surveyor to detect cadastral parcels, to define boundaries and names of the local districts.

In that same period dates also the construction of an oil-mill annex to the winery, which has been active through all technological evolutions until the ‘70s.

Thus a Family with deep roots in their territory of origin, which in the following generations never neglected affection and respect to it and to the traditions.

 

 

Rated 93 Points by Wine Spectator

 

A graceful, medium-bodied red, with bright acidity and fine, creamy tannins, which buoy a pleasing range of baked strawberry, star anise, graphite and red licorice notes.  A subtle overtone of herbs and mineral pushes through and lingers on the lightly chewy finish.  Drink now through 2032.