Etna Rosso DOC 'Il Musmeci' 2018 (750 ml.) Tenuta di Fessina

THE WINE

Etna Rosso 'Il Musmeci' by Tenuta di Fessina is a wine dedicated to Mr. Ignazio Musmeci, who for many years preserved the vineyards with such love that it allowed the cultivation of vines over eighty years old. It is a pure Nerello Mascalese that originates in Rovittello at 700 meters s.l.m. from vineyards dating back to 1932. Cultivated in semicircular terraces that create a microclimate allowing the grapes to ripen slowly and completely, imparting unique elegance and complexity to the wine, which ages in the bottle, giving it austerity and longevity. It ages for 10-12 months in French oak tonneaux, then in large barrels for 6-8 months and finally in the bottle for a minimum of 4 years. Bouquet of red fruit and Mediterranean herbs, tannic and silky taste, velvety, round, enveloping and complex finish. Excellent.

THE ESTATE

Tenuta di Fessina is an emotional project, born from Silvia Maestrelli's love for this land rich in contrasts. In 2007, in collaboration with winemaker Federico Curtaz, who was an agronomist for Gaja for twenty years, the Tuscan producer purchased an old vineyard of Nerello Mascalese dating back to the last century. At the center of the vineyard, a true treasure: a 18th-century palmento made of lava stone, with the ancient "chianca" - a press for pressing the pomace - still intact. The vineyards of Fessina, as the locals of this land have always called the estate in Rovittello, in the municipality of Castiglione di Sicilia, tell well of the care and love with which they have been cultivated and preserved by the previous owners, to whom the Nerello Mascalese cru Il Musmeci, ETNA DOC Rosso is dedicated, as a form of gratitude for not letting the vineyards on Etna go to waste. At first glance, Fessina appears as a true garden of golden fruits or a dwarf forest of brilliant green canopies tousled by the nourishing wind of the Mountain of Fire, nestled between two fertile lava flows, with centenary trees twisted upon themselves and expressive like natural sculptures. It's impossible not to fall in love at first sight.

The beating heart of Fessina is located at 670 meters above sea level. The vineyards – about seven hectares – are situated between two ancient semicircular terraces, lava flows of the past that isolate the vineyard like the old walls of the French “clos”, creating a unique microenvironment. Hazelnut trees alternate with vines, and some olive trees complete the agricultural puzzle of the rasole, which carve out arable land framed by dark walls of lava stone. At Fessina, there are still old vineyards, predominantly planted using the very old traditional method of bush vine with high densities of vines per hectare and a limited production of clusters.

The vineyard is located on a shallow, black soil ridge, with a significant presence of sand, rich in small pumice and fine deconstructed clays. This soil is abundant in trace elements, iron, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese: the wines produced from grapes grown on these soils can amaze with their richness and complexity of aromas accompanied by an interesting and elegant structure. Both through the aroma and the flavor, a pronounced minerality is perceptible. In Rovittello, winters are harsh, with frequent snowfall, springs are cool and rainy, summers are hot and dry, and autumns are long, mild, with a very high temperature differential between night and day. “Vertical” wines, with distinct acidity and a defined profile. At Fessina, viticulture is done by hand, as found in Valtellina, in the Moselle Valley, in the Rhine Valley, with slopes that can vary greatly and widespread terraces that support authentic rocky pearls: on these small terraces grow predominantly Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio, and Carricante. The cultivation is not organic, but “aware”: only what the vine needs is used.