Giodo Alberelli di Giodo 2017 (750ML)

95 JS / 95 WA / 93 FS / 16.5 ++ JR

A strong and dense Etna red with plums, dark berries, orange peel and lemons on the nose and palate. Full-bodied. Layered and flavorful. Juicy fruit. Needs time to open, but great potential from these ancient vines. Better in 2021. - James Suckling

Carlo Ferrini's Alberelli di Giodo is a newish reality on Etna that presented its first vintage in 2016, following years of Etna winemaking experience by this celebrated Tuscan consultant. He now has the 2017 Sicilia Nerello Mascalese on the market. This is an extremely elegant and expressive interpretation of Nerello Mascalese with lots of crisp energy and lively freshness. Obtaining this level of vigor is not always easy with this finicky grape, but Carlo nails it. His wine is supported by an extremely fine and silky texture, and the bouquet is impeccably clean and pure. There is a drying mineral note that reminds you of its volcanic roots and recalls the 2017 vintage heat. The vines are 80 years old and planted at 950 meters in elevation. This is Carlo's only Etna wine (for now) and he makes 7,200 bottles.-Monica Larner, Wine Advocate

Notes of balsamic, wood, candied cherry, sugar confectionery and cassata. Ample on the palate, with sandy but fresh tannins and an oily background note. Despite the dense tannic grip there's lot of juicy fruit. Still closed, but with great savoury promise and with a clear saltiness already.-Falstaff

Bigger and less refined than the 2016. You needed to pick early in 2017. Pretty dry on the end. Very youthful. - Jancis Robinson

Carlo Ferrini, who has been visiting Sicily as a winemaker for over 15 years, could not resist falling under the fascination of Mount Etna and its main grape variety, Nerello Mascalese. Such was the beginning of Alberelli di Giodo, a wine whose first vintage was 2016. The vineyard is little more than a hectare, growing at 950 metres on the volcano’s slopes, extraordinary pre-phylloxera vines 80-100 years old that are trained to the traditional low-bush alberello style.

The elevation and northern aspect are ideal for Nerello Mascalese, and the black, pomace-rich soils yield wines with utterly distinctive body and fruit. Alberelli di Giodo matures 12 months in small 5-hl French oak casks. The result is a wine of extreme refinement that displays to a remarkable degree the minerality classic to its volcano growing-area. On its label too is the grape-variety figure, but here he represents Nerello Mascalese, and on Etna’s summit he holds up by himself the world, because he interprets, undiluted, the vineyards of Etna. - Winery Notes