I Vigneri Rosso 2025

The I Vigneri Rosso 2025 is regarded as the calling card of the I Vigneri association: a transparent red wine from Etna, ruby red with purple highlights. On the nose, it is shaped by élevage in contact with oxygen, lending it layered complexity and a pronounced spiciness; beneath the ethereal, balsamic frame lie dark forest fruit, earthy notes, and mild spices. This depth keeps unfolding in the glass.

I Vigneri's vineyards lie on Etna, on black, mineral-rich soils of cooled lava, volcanic ash, and sand, up to 1,200 meters in altitude. The vines for this wine are trained in the Alberello Etneo, the historic bush-vine system that requires each vine to be tended individually by hand; the average vine age is 20 years, with an average planting density of 7,500 vines. There are no iron posts or wires in the vineyard, only chestnut stakes from Etna.

90% Nerello Mascalese, 10% Nerello Cappuccio, harvested from the first or second week of October with strict manual selection of the grapes in the vineyard. No destemming, first pressing by foot, around eight days of maceration with skins and stems, then eight to ten days of spontaneous fermentation, all without temperature control or oak barrels. This is followed by six months underground in terracotta amphorae; racking and bottling follow the lunar phases, with only a minimal addition of sulfur before bottling.

Silky on entry, with filigree phenolics and fine-grained tannin. Despite its transparent nature, it retains a distinctive grip, along with a slightly textured, gripping mouthfeel. The fruit is playful, the drinkability brisk; 13% vol. and a serving temperature of 14 degrees keep the wine light on its feet.

A forbidden wine: because it is made using ancient methods in the palmento, classification as Etna DOP is excluded, and it is bottled as an unclassified Vino Rosso. The Alberello Etneo, in which its vines are trained, has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.