Vino di Anna Rampante 2022

Nerello Mascalese

Etna, Sicily

Vibrant crimson with purple hue, this wine has attractive aromas and flavours of plums and ripe cherries with floral undertones. The palate is complex, displaying a fine acidity, austere, ethereal tannins, and a long mineral finish with liquorice & anise notes.

In 2015, Anna and Eric purchased a 1.5 hectare property in Contrade Rampante, above the village of Passopisciaro, and just beneath the quota mille road, on the north face of Mt Etna. Half the property was 80-100 year old bush vines of Nerello Mascalese with a sprinkling of Nerello Cappuccio. The rest of the terraces were planted to century old olive trees, fruit trees (apple, pear, apricot) or covered in broom and blackberries. The couple farmed the vineyard biodynamically for 8 years to bring it back to full health and vitality. The biodiversity of the surrounds helped create an environment which encouraged the growth of wildflowers, soil microbes, bees and insects throughout the property.

In 2022, the grapes were hand harvested on the 5th October. They were destemmed by hand into a 1200 hl Georgian qvevri (clay vessels) buried in the cellar in Solicchiata. Alcoholic fermentation was conducted by indigenous yeasts without temperature control. Upon completion, the qvevri was sealed and the grapes and new wine were left to macerate for four weeks, during which time malolactic fermentation was undertaken. 

After pressing, the wine spent two winters in a chestnut barrel on fine lees, prior to being bottled in February 2024. The wine was neither fined nor filtered. The Vino di Anna “Qvevri” wines are not made every year. The grapes need to be in perfect health and have a depth of flavour and complexity to warrant this type of vinification. The qvevris were handmade by one of the few remaining artisan qvevri makers, Zaaliko Bodjadze in his workshop about two hours west of Tbilisi, Georgia. Zaaliko and his sons source the pure clay high in the Caucasus Mountains, moulding the pots by hand. Vino di Anna have nine qvevris buried in their cellar of varying sizes.