Researching Single Vineyards In Volcanic Soils Of Etna, Sicily

Despite Mount Etna receiving its DOC status as a quality designated area in 1968, and especially considering the DOC system in Italy was only established in 1963, it is remarkable that only over the past few years has it become a sought after wine on eclectic restaurant wine lists in big cities around the world. Etna is a stunning place in the wine region of Sicily, Italy, as it is not only the largest volcano in Europe but it is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. The idea of Etna as a whole is already compelling especially considering it is a small appellation (vineyard area) of around 2,966 acres according to the Alberto Tasca, CEO of the prominent family wine company Tasca d’Almerita, as well as soaring to a height of 10,827 feet. Alberto has been conducting a ten year research project on this lively volcanic vineyard area to prove that there are specific site expressions with the unveiling of his single vineyard Etna wines.

Tasca d’Almerita

There are a handful of wineries in Sicily that have been key to raising the quality and global perception of Sicilian wines and Tasca d’Almerita, started in 1830, would be part of that core group with their Regaleali estate right in the middle of this Mediterranean island. Alberto Tasca is part of the 7^th generation leading the family business and through the years they have expanded into other areas of Sicily. In 2001 they bought the Capofaro estate on the island of Salina (off the coast of North-East Sicily) which focuses on sweet and dry white Malvasia wines; in 2007 they were entrusted to take over the Whitetaker Foundation’s historic Grillo vineyards on the Mozia Island (off the western coast of Sicily) that was at one time the most important island in the Mediterranean Sea during the Phoenician times; and in 2008 Alberto’s first cousin asked him to take over the Tenuta Sallier De La Tour estate in North West Sicily, right outside of Palermo, in the Monreale DOC which is famous for long-lived Syrah wines.

Tasca d’Almerita has not only been on the forefront of improving wine quality in Sicily in various areas of the island but they have been a beacon of light showing the way of sustainable practices in the vineyards that can be realistically sustained. Alberto spoke about his ten year journey of “trying to work as naturally with all of our vineyards as much as we could” and so some of their vineyards were biodynamic, some organic and some conventional and they analyzed everything from the effects on the soil to the local biodiversity to the cellar. Alberto wanted to see the scientific results behind each approach and find for each set of estates the ideal way to find harmony for the “long term”; consequently Tasca d’Almerita joined the SOStain organization that would assist them with such lofty goals. Tasca d’Almerita’s fierce passion to promote sustainable viticulture in Sicily was one of the reasons they were nominated for Wine Enthusiast’s European Winery of the Year and the emotion in Alberto’s voice was evident when he announced this honor. Alberto has a graceful ease about him on first greeting but one can quickly assess that the weight of his family’s legacy is something he takes extremely seriously, and so, it obviously meant so much; a few weeks ago they were announced as the winner of the category.

But with all the recent hype about Etna, Alberto was hesitant at first as its importance originally came to his attention from his brother who loved golfing at a really nice golf course at Etna. Alberto said with a light smile, “He told me about Etna and said that I should go there to look at the vineyards as they are really exciting and at first I was annoyed as I thought he was wasting my time because he was only interested in us investing in vineyards there so he could play golf.” And an intensely focused look replaced his carefree smile, “But then I tried some wines from Etna and some of them were not so good and others were really interesting to me and so I said I would go visit some of the vineyards.”

Terroir in Etna

In 2004 Tasca d’Almerita started a project in Etna that started with experimental vinifications while also analyzing the various soils of Mount Etna. And through time Alberto learned that there were different vineyards that were made up of volcanic eruptions that happened at varying times; the age of the soils could have up to 30,000 years differences between each other in terms of when they were formed. A single vineyard in Etna is called “contrada” (subdivision in Italian) which references in Etna that the vineyards’ sense of place is related to the timing of a volcanic eruption. Alberto noted that today there are around 130 new contrade (plural form of contrada) which is a huge improvement from when he first was involved with this volcanic area; Etna is a stratovolcano (composite volcano) and is a conical volcano built up of a multitude of layers of hardened lava, pumice and ash, and so, isolating single vineyards makes sense.

Tenuta Tascante

The Tenuta Tascante estate, which has the “n” and “e” backwards on the label of the word “Tascante” to spell “Etna” backwards while combining it with “Tasca”, had to use another winery for the first ten years before they could build their own; now with their own winery, they are able to harvest different sections at varying times as some of the plots (such as with their Contrada Pianodario) have a difference of up to 328 feet in elevation in the same single vineyard. In 2007 they bought their first single vineyards, Contrada Sciaranuova and Pianodario, and then bought another in 2015 called Contrada Rampante with all three being terraced with dry stone walls and the soils’ ages ranging from 4,000 to 40,000 years old with possibility of Rampante’s and Pianodario’s top soil being around 25,000 years younger than Sciaranuova; wine from Pianodario gave darker fruit notes while Rampante had more floral and Sciaranuova was in between with being not too dark or not too floral. The 2016 vintage seemed the ideal release year for these single vineyard selections as Alberto explained, “It was quite cool in the summer and a long growing season with a late harvest and so the ripeness was slow achieving complexity, harmony and balance.” Since the many alternating forms of volcanic soil on Etna have a high amount of potassium, it causes a lowering in acidity of the Nerello Mascalese native red grape variety (all the single vineyards are 100% Nerello Mascalese) and so getting enough acidity while managing the tannin structure can be challenging yet 2016 was able to achieve both.

It’s Finally Etna’s Turn

There is no doubt that Etna as a whole appellation has a name when it comes to sense of place but as Alberto says, with just 120 producers concentrated in less than 3,000 acres there is a lot of competition with each other which gives an energy to the place that is electrifying. But with any shift of focus there may be a concern from some producers that single vineyards may take away the power of just focusing on the sense of place of Etna as a whole. Yet it seems by how Alberto described the Etna producers with words laced with admiration – living with the threat of possible destruction every day from flowing lava – that no one was more prepared than them to finally treat this wine area as the great wine appellation that it was long ago.

“Every year is different for these vineyards. It will take time to understand them”, Alberto stated with a sparkle in his eyes as he admitted that when it came to describing the exact makeup of the soils or exacting the age of a particular plot that it would take time to get more precise. Etna is making Alberto look at the differences of terroir in a way that is rooted in analyzing the contrasting nuances of various vineyards that were created thousands of years apart from each other. It may end up unlocking other keys to the sense of place and in the future what constitutes a single vineyard. 

The non-single vineyard Etna bottlings from Tenuta Tascante (red and white) can be found on Wine-Searcher or contact their importer Dalla Terra Winery Direct to find retailers or restaurants that will carry their single vineyard wines listed below.

2016 Tenuta Tascante, Contrada Rampante, Etna DOC: 100% Nerello Mascalese. Aromatic nose of rose petals and lilacs with exotic spice and a linear body that had a bright finish with hints of fresh raspberry.

2016 Tenuta Tascante, Contrada Pianodario, Etna DOC: 100% Nerello Mascalese. Dark, brooding fruit with hints of crumbly rock and richer mid-palate that had round tannins and a flavorful finish.

2016 Tenuta Tascante, Contrada Sciaranuova, Etna DOC: 100% Nerello Mascalese. Smokey minerality with rich red cherry fruit and a nimble body that danced along the palate.

2016 Tenuta Tascante, Contrada Sciaranuova VV, Etna DOC: 100% Nerello Mascalese old vines that are 51 years old. Intense saline quality with sea shells and lovely perfume of cherry blossoms and a textured body that was like ribbons of silk gliding across the expressive, long finish.