Giovanni Rosso Etna Rosso 2016
- Textured, savoury
- Sicily
This is a wine for the kid in you that still loves volcanoes, explosions and all things fantastically delightful - the same one who’s grown up to become the adult who loves all things fragrant, unusual and high quality.
Profile
So we’re at the foot of Mt Etna. The vines are over 40 years old. The grapes are nerello mascalese for the most part, with “small batches of other local grape varieties”. The wine’s aromatic and earthy, peppery but fine and deep. Raspberry and citrus with black tea and bergamot, too. Juicy and elegant but savoury. For Barolo lovers who want something with even more fragrance and a lot lighter, but still drying and complex and most importantly - impeccably poised.
It’s the first time Giovanni Rosso have made this wine, and whoa, this bodes well. Lap it up before people cotton on to how good this stuff really is.
Reviews
Gary Walsh
“From 1975 plantings, and I can’t help but feel, there’s a little bit of Barolo in this Etna. I’ve guessed the RRP. No idea, really. It’s fragrant, perfumed, a little smoky black tea, crushed red berries and fennel seed. Medium-bodied, nutty and bright, crushed rock and shale kind of thing going on in the tannin, and to an extent the flavour, though we all know you can’t really taste rocks, though maybe, just maybe, we can? This is a wine of crunch, and finesse, it’s kind of translucent and very fine, with dried herb bitterness, and just the right amount of juicy raspberry fruit weight. Wonderful.”
It’s cool, we get it, you want to know absolutely everything about this wine. Well here you go, go nuts.
Specs
- Region
- Sicily
- Vintage
- 2016
- Cellaring
- 2032
- Preservatives
- Sulphites
- Alcohol by Vol.
- 13.0%
- Closure
- Cork
- Bottle Vol
- 750mL
- Blend Info
- Nerello Mascalese (and small batches of other local grape varieties)
- Serving Temp.
- 17.0°C
Tasting
From the producer
Perfumes: fine and deep in the aromas, introduced by Mediterranean citrusy sensations, followed by violet, bergamot, wet stones, forest leaves and elegant hints of white pepper. Taste: juicy; progressive delicate tannins and vibrant acidity. Neat and savoury finish.
Winemaking
Crafting
The fermentation lasts some 10 days with daily pumping over of the wine mass with délestages at the half of the period (fermentation in stainless steel tanks). The aging is under development conducted in French oak barrels of different sizes.
The rules are there ain’t no rules, but here are some foods we think will work pretty well with this wine...
Goes with
Lamb kebabs
Ingredients
- 12 fresh rosemary sprigs
- 600g lamb leg steaks
- 1 lemon, rind finely grated, juiced
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 700g orange sweet potato, peeled, cut into 1cm-thick slices
- 70g rocket leaves, trimmed
- lemon wedges, to serve
Directions
- Remove leaves from rosemary sprigs, reserving 2 tablespoons leaves. Soak rosemary skewers in cold water for 30 minutes. Drain. Chop reserved leaves.
- Cut lamb into 2cm cubes. Thread onto rosemary skewers. Place in a ceramic dish. Whisk rind, honey, garlic, reserved rosemary, 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a jug. Pour over kebabs. Turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Place sweet potato onto a microwave-safe plate. Cover. Microwave on HIGH (100%) for 6 to 8 minutes. Drain. Drizzle with remaining oil. Season with salt and pepper.
- Preheat barbecue plate on high heat. Reduce to medium. Lightly grease. Cook sweet potato for 2 minutes each side. Transfer to a plate. Cover with foil. Add kebabs to barbecue and cook for 2 minutes each side for medium.
- Place sweet potato onto serving plates. Top with lamb kebabs and serve with rocket and lemon wedges.