SRC Etna Rosso 2020

SRC farms the steep terraced slopes around Mount Etna in Sicily, where vineyards are cut into the volcano's flanks like the tiers of a natural amphitheatre, an arrangement that aids drainage, sun exposure and airflow. This Etna Rosso is made chiefly from Nerello Mascalese with other native red varieties, worked as a natural and organic wine. Etna's black volcanic soils, lava, ash and mineral sand, drain freely and give the wine its smoke and salinity, while altitude and a wide diurnal temperature range slow ripening and hold acidity. The wine is aged twelve months in old stone lagares and concrete, both neutral vessels that let the fruit and volcanic minerality show through without oak flavour, the porous stone allowing slow, gentle oxygenation. The colour is medium ruby. The nose shows ripe black fruit, wet stone and a saline hint. The palate is energetic, fresh and elegant, medium-bodied with fine tannins and a savoury, mineral finish. Serve at 15 to 16 degrees. It suits game birds, mushrooms and roast poultry.