Eduardo Torres Acosta Terre Siciliane Rosso “Versante Nord” IGT 2024 750ml

The 2024 Nerello Mascalese Versante Nord wafts up with a pretty nose of dried strawberries, dusty sage, ash and lifting hints of split pine. This is pure and vibrant within, as ripe wild berries and juicy acidity amass rosy inner florals toward the close. Sweet tannins frame the finish.

Nerello Mascalese and other. Eduardo organically farms parcels totalling about 4 hectares on the north face or versante nord of Mt. Etna. Those parcels are scattered amongst 6 different contrade or districts: Pietramarina, Allegracore, Daini, Friera, Zucconero and Caprieri. The soils are variations on sandy volcanic ash and the elevation ranges from 550 to 930 meters. Averaging over 50 years old, the vines are generally alberello-pruned, either as individual bushes or on wires depending on the parcel; the varieties are interplanted and include a preponderance of Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio, as well as smatterings of Alicante, Garnacha and other reds (plus whites like Minnella, Catarratto, Grecanico, Carricante and Inzolia that are vinified and bottled separately). The bunches are hand-harvested, partly destemmed (varies with vintage), co-fermented spontaneously with native yeasts and without sulfur or temperature control in concrete tanks. Maceration lasts around 15 days. The wine is aged for 16 months in concrete tanks and old barriques with minimal racking and bottled without fining or filtration and with a tiny amount of sulfur.