I felt like Popeye after a can of spinach when I tasted this wine. New-release rosés are supposed to do that, but frankly, not a lot of them do. This is the time of year when we are deluged with rosés to consider, and as my colleague Ian Cauble likes to say, we “kiss a lot of frogs” in search of princely wines like Barone di Villagrande’s Etna Rosato.
For me, nothing else I’ve tasted comes even remotely close to this modestly priced Sicilian stunner. This is not only everything one could hope for in a rosé but everything one could hope for in a wine, period: energy, complexity, a real sense of place, unparalleled versatility with food…you name it, it’s here, and for just $25, too. When I think of how many Summer dishes this would be perfect with, and how many friends would be thrilled by it, I’m not sure even a case would be enough to last until Labor Day. This is one of the world’s greatest terroirs on display in rosé (or,
rosato) form, right up there with the greatest examples from Provence and the broader Mediterranean. And finally, I should note that we locked up just about every bottle of this that came into California—so if you want to drink like a Sicilian aristocrat all Summer long, this is likely your one opportunity to stock up!
Some of you may remember Barone di Villagrande, which is as steeped in history as any wine estate in the world. The first Baron of Villagrande, Don Carmelo Nicolosi, was named in 1727 by Charles VI, an Austrian who ruled what was then the “Kingdom of the Two Sicilies”—Sicily along with the chunk of the Italian peninsula south of Naples. Ten generations later, the Nicolosi family is still at it, making wines in the village of Milo, on the eastern slopes of the Mount Etna volcano. This is the ultimate ‘heritage’ producer in a region that has witnessed a tidal wave of international interest in its wines, and like one of its similarly long-established neighbors—SommSelect favorite Scammaca del Murgo—Barone di Villagrande’s modest prices don’t at all square with the quality of the wines or the legacy behind them. It was true of their Etna Rosso, which we’ve offered previously, and it’s doubly true of this rosato.
On Mount Etna, Europe’s largest active volcano at about 11,000 feet, vineyards wrap around its lower slopes on the north, east, and southern flanks. The Barone di Villagrande vineyards are situated on slopes above Milo, which, along with other key “east side” villages like Zafferana Etnea, is within the Valle del Bove—a large, concave valley thought to have been formed by the collapse of an ancient crater-lake. Along with the black volcanic lava that is the key component of Etnean soil, vineyards in the eastern region also contain higher percentages of sand, especially in comparison to the heavier, more rocky soils of the northern sector. Barone di Villagrande’s winemaker and 10th-generation proprietor, Marco Nicolosi, believes his area’s soil composition results in more fine-tuned, finessed wines. As elsewhere, altitudes in the Villagrande sites are high—700 meters and up—creating dramatic day-night temperature swings that help preserve acidity in grapes. They develop flavor, not just sugar.
Today’s wine is a blend of 80% Nerello Mascalese, Etna’s superstar red grape variety, with 10% Nerello Cappuccio (Mascalese’s trusted blending partner) and 10% Carricante (a white grape). Starting with its classic salmon-pink/onion skin color and continuing from there, this is one of the most memorable, mouth-watering rosés you’ll ever taste: aromas of Sicilian blood orange, nectarine, white cherry, rose petals, lavender, cinnamon, and crushed rocks rise from the glass like smoke from the top of the Etna volcano, carrying over to the crisply refreshing palate. The acidity has a gripping, enlivening effect, triggering the salivary response and snapping the taster to attention. Man, is this delicious, and ready to be paired with all sorts of tomato-y, Sicilian-style dishes:
zuppa di pesce (essentially Italian bouillabaisse); eggplant
caponata (see attached recipe); grilled tuna; the list is practically endless. Serve this at 45 degrees in all-purpose stems and, as I said above, do not be caught short on this one—you are going to miss it when it’s gone!
