Federico Graziani Profumo di Vulcano Rosso 2022

Voted Italy’s “Best Sommelier” in 1998 at age 23, author of numerous Italian wine books, and protege of Etna’s oracle and renaissance man, Salvo Foti, Federico Graziani’s wines hit the same high marks of the world’s greats. Located on the north face of Etna, Fede’s Nerello Mascalese-dominant Etna Rossos are harvested from a mix of new and ancient plantations (with some pre-phylloxera, own-rooted plants) in Passopisciaro and Montelaguardia. The nose offers ample, raspberries and wild blueberries, followed by citrus and Mediterranean scrub memories, orange and mandarin, marjoram and myrtle; they close notes of sweet spices, sandalwood and tobacco from pipe. On the palate it is rich and deep but not rounded, with a lively tannic backbone, and a complex, sweet-salty finish of great personality and persistence.