critic reviews
Luminous red. Red cherry, marzipan, raspberry jam, quinine, blood orange and a dusting of powdered minerals on the drop-dead gorgeous nose. Wonderfully juicy, sweet and gripping in the mouth, showing superb nuance and verve to the soft, fleshy red fruit, candied violet and balsamic flavors. Finishes vibrant and with noteworthy length; broad but polished tannins coat the entire mouth. An Etna Rosso of memorable purity and precision, this is great to drink already but promises greater things still to come. Made from a parcel of old pre-phylloxeric vines that grow in the Calderara Sottana vineyard (one row of which actually grows in the Santo Spirito cru), but at 100+ years of age, the Don Peppino vines are much older than those used for the Calderara Sottana bottling. In fact, this wine is a textbook example of the importance of old vines, because as delightful as the Calderara Sottana Etna Rosso is, the Don Peppino is vastly superior due to its softer, nobler tannins and greater depth and complexity of fruit.