For every wine drinker who perks up at the sight of an Etna Rosso, there are countless others who look at the same bottle and say, “What’s Etna Rosso?” My mission as a sommelier is to take that second group and add them to the first one—and today, I’ve got the perfect wine for the job.
Grown in an heirloom vineyard on Sicily’s Mount Etna—Europe’s largest active volcano—today’s red from Quantico is an example of why this region is the most talked-about winegrowing zone in the world right now. It’s an ancient wine culture, but one that had been largely neglected for decades. In recent times, however, the revival of these vineyards has been undertaken not just by locals but by high-profile vintners from elsewhere in Italy and beyond. Why? Because it is an incredible place for viticulture—high altitudes, intense sunlight, mineral-rich volcanic soils, minimal disease pressure—and the wines brilliantly bear that out. Etna’s reds and whites alike are being touted as the Italian counterparts to red/white Burgundies, so regardless of which type of wine drinker you are, this is a wine of the moment that demands your attention. Quantico’s elegant and perfumed ’18 has the added distinction of hailing from 80- to 100-year-old vines in the village of Solicchiata, one of a string of towns along the volcano’s north slope that are the Etnean equivalent of Burgundy’s Côte de Nuits. This is one of the prettiest Etna reds I’ve ever had—you need to check it out!
The surge in interest in Etna wines has given rise to a lot of “new” labels, of which Quantico is one: Partners Giovanni Raiti and Pietro DiGiovanni launched Quantico in 2009, but, like so many others on Etna these days, they were not exactly starting from scratch: Both men had access to well-positioned, old-vine plots that had been in their families for generations. Raiti’s family contrada (the local word for farm) is in the village of Lingualossa, just down the road from DiGiovanni’s vineyard in Solichiatta. Both towns are on the north/northeast face of the volcano, with vineyards exposed mostly to the north and perched at 600-800 meters’ elevation; they are part of a string of “Grand Cru” towns that also includes Randazzo, Passopisciaro, and Rovittello, which contain the most prized vineyards in the region.
There has essentially been a “land rush” on Etna over the past decade-plus, as assorted winemaking interests large and small have descended on the region to acquire some of its prized vineyard land. No doubt there have been many small family farmers who’ve suddenly found themselves sitting, Jed Clampett-style, on some very valuable real estate. Many of the vineyards, some of them abandoned and in disrepair, nevertheless contained very old, bush-trained vines. Some of them even escaped the phylloxera plague that swept through Europe the late-19th century, thanks to the sandy, volcanic soils. So, on Etna, even a new project like Quantico draws upon prime raw material.
Comprised of 90% Nerello Mascalese—the star red-wine attraction in the area—and 10% Nerello Cappuccio, Quantico’s 2018 is sourced from DiGiovanni’s 80+-year-old vines in “Grand Cru” Solicchiatta (Raiti grows the whites over in Lingualossa). They farm organically and biodynamically and eschew the use of sulfur in both the vineyards and winery, producing a very primal, high-energy wine that is nevertheless impeccably clean and elegant. The wine spent about a year in a mixture of used
barrique and larger
tonneaux barrels, lending a subtle touch of spice to a wine that otherwise drinks like a volcanic Chambolle-Musigny: In the glass, it’s a bright garnet-red moving to pink at the rim, giving off a Pinot Noir-like vibe that continues with the aromas of sappy red cherry, woodland berries, orange peel, tea leaves, rose petals, savory herbs, crushed rocks, and a whiff of smoke. It is medium-bodied, and, after about 30 minutes in a decanter, extremely focused and silky—the tannins are very fine-grained while the acidity lends the right amount of mouth-watering tang. Serve this at 60 degrees in Burgundy stems and make sure to have some around for when tomato season kicks into high gear—this will be amazing with Sicilian specialties like
caponata, pizza, or beef
braciole. Every so often, Mount Etna has an eruption to remind us all that it’s there. But we don’t need that. We’ve got the wine!
