Etna, Sicily
Blend: 90% Nerello Mascalese, 5% Nerello Cappuccio/ Alicante (grenache) and about 5% white indigenous Etnean grapes (Grecanico, Minnella Bianca and Carricante)
Vibrant purple/red in colour, this wine has attractive aromas of cherries, strawberries, and wild fennel. It is dry, medium bodied with juicy, ripe tannins, red fruit flavours and underlying spice.
2021 was an extremely hot and dry year on Mt Etna which resulted in a low yielding harvest of ripe, healthy grapes. However, sugar levels were higher than normal and the skins of the black grapes were thinker and more tannic. Thus, we needed to modify our vinification practices accordingly. Nature still proved dominant, and in order to produce a balanced wine, we found the need to blend the wines that usually would have been destined for our Palmento Rosso and Jeudi 15 Rosato labels, along with a white wine made from old bush vines of Grecanico, Carricante and Minnella. “Vendredi 13” Rosso is the result. Named, tongue in cheek, to reflect the challenging year of 2021 for all, and that for some “Friday 13th” is considered unlucky while for others, it’s a day to celebrate!
All of the grapes were organically grown in terraced vineyards high on the north face of Mt Etna. The fruit was hand harvested and fermented in a variety of vessels by indigenous yeasts; Etnean palmento, open wooden fermenter, mastellone (food grade plastic tubs) and stainless steel. Time on skins varied from a few days to 8-10 days. A large percentage of whole bunches were used. All the wines underwent malolactic fermentation.
Each individual component was not true to style but when blended together produced a balanced, energetic wine, full of fruit with the trademark minerality of grapes grown at high altitude on volcanic soils. Blending took place in Spring 2022 and the wine was bottled without fining and filtration in July and September 2022.