Our wine
Etna Rosso D.O.C. 2020
Production Area: Contrada Picciolo, Rovittello, Etna | Northern exposure
Grapes: Nerello Mascalese 90% - Nerello Capuccio 10%
Production: 1,300 bottles
Soil: black, brownish volcanic sand; volcanic rocks
Training system: bush-training with chestnut poles. With century old vines.
Plantation density: 8000 vine/Ha.
Average yield: ??
Harvest: manual, second half of October
Vinification: fermentation in stainless steel tanks with selected indigenouus yeast. Malolatic fermentation fully run.
Ageing: drink 2021 - 2025
Alcohol content: 13.5% vol.
Tasting: medium intensity ruby red color with a bouquet that enhances the red berries notes, with gentle spicy aromas andcolcanic ash hints. On the palate is fresh, with soft tannins and a sapid finish.
Serving temperature: 16-18° C.
Datasheet.pdf - Casale 120 Etna Rosso 2020
VINEYARD TOUR: Book a visit to the vineyard with tasting
Vintage 2020
Contrada Picciolo has ancient vines between 80-110 years old and on a terroir with ancient lavaflows at an altitude of 650-700 meter above sea level.
The summer was dry and hot with constant temperatures and little sirocco (hot wind from North Africa). 15 October the harvest was completed.
Thanks to normal climatic conditions, the 2020 vintage is very good. The wines stand out for their great finesse and its minerality, they have a balanced aroma and a high alcohol content (13.5%). As expected, the yield was low.
The wine ages well in bottle and is recommended to drink 2021-2025. With bottle age the primary aromas...
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Alberello
The training system of our vineyard is the goblet or bush vine system, ‘alberello’ in Italian. This cultivation method was used principally in the Mediterranean (Italy, France, Spain, Portugal) wine regions with less rain and harsh sunlight.
Nowadays the alberello is replaced by training on vertical trellis with higher yield and allowing mechanical labor. With the alberello system all the work is manual and the quantity of harvest very low, but the grapes make an excellent base for a high quality wine.
We have chosen to maintain the traditional training system as it allows plants to keep the right balance with the environment, not needing to irrigate nor the need to use chemical pesticides. The roots can grow in big distances in search of water, making the vines more resistant to summer droughts.
The alberello system allows for good air circulation through the canopy helping in the prevention of diseases. The sprouts of each plant whilst growing, are tied to a pole (made of local chestnut from Mt. Etna) to support the branches and to improve the airing of the leaves.
These vine poles have been used since ancient times. The old name of southern Italy, Enotria, comes from the Greek word enotros meaning vine pole
Nerello Mascalese
With at least 80%, the historical indigenous grape to Mt. Etna, Nerello Mascalese is the main variety in the Etna DOC red wine. It is a dark-skinned grape variety that grows most commonly on the volcanic slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily, at elevations up to 1000m above sea level. The variety takes its name from the Mascali plain between Mount Etna and the coast where it is thought to have originated.
The Nerello produces an elegant wine with a complex note of aromatic herbs, spice of cinnamon and red ripe berry. The palate is elegant, with a good balance among acids, sugar and tannins and a typical mineral character.
