Cosentino 2019

Cosentino comes from a 1.35-hectare plot in Contrada Feudo di Mezzo, on the northern slope of Mount Etna, in Castiglione di Sicilia. This hundred-year-old vineyard, planted on terraces and trained as alberello (bush vines), is rooted in volcanic lava soils. It gives rise to a singular Etna Rosso DOC, shaped by altitude, temperature swings and the cool breezes coming from the Nebrodi mountains.

The Nerello Mascalese is harvested in the second ten days of October. The grapes are partially destemmed, then fermented with native yeasts. The wine is then aged for 15 months in oak barrels before a spell in steel tanks, refining its texture while preserving the precision of the fruit and the mineral expression of the volcanic terroir.

This wine reveals notes of ripe cherry, wild blackberry, raspberry, wild strawberry, cranberry, black pepper, sweet liquorice, Mediterranean herbs, black tea, cocoa, gunpowder smoke and volcanic stone. The palate is fresh, dense and flavoursome, carried by vibrant acidity and fine, firm yet integrated tannins. The finish stretches out at length on red fruit, salinity and smoky minerality.

Ah, Italy, what a beautiful hedonistic country, home of the Dolce Vita, but how hard it is to understand how its wine is organised! The key to understanding Italy's appellation system is to think of it as several small countries rather than a single uniform one, since each region has its own appellation system. Yet Italy can offer wine lovers a multitude of wines with varied and unique flavours and styles, as well as bottles full of surprise and creativity. Unfortunately it also produces a large quantity of soulless, characterless wines sold under their most useful and commercially renowned names: Pinot Grigio, Chianti, Valpolicella, Lambrusco, Prosecco and many others... But let us talk a little history: winegrowing in Italy goes back to the most distant antiquity and originated in Greece. The Etruscans are said to have introduced the vine, and Greek immigrants improved and changed the grape varieties, later calling the country "Oenotria": the land of wine. At the height of the Roman Empire, wine held an important place in daily life, and some regions already stood out for the excellence of their produce. The Romans also planted many vineyards across Europe, leaving an indelible mark of their conquests. Today Italy is the largest wine producer in the world, ahead of France. Italy is divided into three climatic zones. The northern mountains have a fairly harsh mountain climate. The plain in the "middle of the boot" has a continental climate with cold winters and hot, stormy summers. The "south of the boot" enjoys a Mediterranean climate with very hot, very dry summers, not forgetting the islands of Sicily and Sardinia. In short, Italy produces a great variety of wines thanks to its 200 different grape varieties, many of them native to its land. It is a country just as complex as its wines, and well worth exploring!