Etna Rosso - Roberto Abbate

The Etna Rosso DOC by Roberto Abbate is born on the slopes of Europe's highest active volcano, at over 600 metres above sea level, where Nerello Mascalese — the indigenous red grape of Etna — finds the ideal conditions to express a complexity and elegance that few wine regions in the world can match.

Roberto Abbate is a small artisan producer working old-vine vineyards, some over a century old, trained in the traditional alberello (bush vine) style on volcanic soils of black lava and ash. This exceptional terrain — poor, well-drained and mineral-rich — forces the roots deep into the rock and gives the wine a unique volcanic minerality that no other place on earth can replicate.

Nerello Mascalese is frequently compared to Pinot Noir for its finesse and aromatic transparency: the colour is pale ruby, almost translucent despite its concentration — do not be misled. On the nose it is intense and refined: red cherry, pomegranate, rose petals, wild Mediterranean herbs (oregano, thyme) and a distinctive undercurrent of lava stone and volcanic ash. On the palate it is elegant and tense, with silky fine-grained tannins, lively acidity and a long, persistent finish with notes of spice and volcanic earth.

A wine that speaks of one of the most unique territories in the world — and one that every serious lover of great Italian reds should discover.