Girolamo Russo, 2021 Etna Bianco "Nerina"

People

Giuseppe Russo left home for a while to study music and literature, and to teach, but returned to his native Sicily in 2005 to continue the tradition of making wine on his family’s property. Of their 26 hectares of land, 15 are planted to the vine, and the remaining to olive trees and hazelnut groves. Passopisciaro, the village of the Russo family, has become an epicenter of winemaking in recent years, and Giuseppe named his label in honor of his father.

Place

Mount Etna is Europe’s largest active volcano, which is a bit wacky to think that folks grow grapes on its slopes. Anything for good wine, huh? Etna’s soils, being formed by volcanic explosions and run-off, are known for producing deeply complex wines with a sui generis effect on the palate that one might call effervescence. Each flow of lava (or “sciara”) from the past 500 million years has solidified, affecting the different contrada (hamlets) differently over the many years. Thus, the wines of Etna express their unique terroirs remarkably well.

Everything is done by hand on the Russo family’s vineyards, which are a combination of some very bush-trained old vines that are a century old, and younger cordon-trained vines.

Palate

Floral and citrusy, with a bit of spice and a fair bit of minerality. Rich, round mouthfeel with the requisite acidity to balance the complexity and alcohol. Truly, a crazy good, and very rare wine.

Technical Notes

A blend of old vines (50-100 years old) and younger vines, planted on Northern volcanic slopes that are between 650 and 800 meters above sea level. 75% Carricante, and 25% field blend of Catarratto, Inzolia, Grecianico, Minnella, and Coda di Volpe. Hand harvested, fermented in 30% used oak and 70% stainless steel by indigenous yeasts. Macerated for 2 days on the skins, denied malolactic conversion, and aged for 6 months before bottling at 12% abv. Just over 800 cases produced.