2023 | I Custodi delle Vigne dell'Etna Etna Rosso "Pistus" | Sicily | Italy

A traditional Etna red from the Salvo Foti school — old-vine Nerello off the volcano's north face, aged in concrete.

I Custodi delle Vigne dell'Etna — "the guardians of Etna's vines" — makes wine on the volcano's north side with the guidance of legendary oenologist Salvo Foti and his Maestranza dei Vigneri, an artisan winemakers' guild dating to 1435. "Pistus" is their Etna Rosso: Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio from Contrada Moganazzi at 700 meters, alberello-trained on sandy volcanic soil, macerated a week and aged 15 months in concrete to keep it pure and mineral.

Traditional old-vine Etna red at this price is a natural-wine-lover's steal. Concrete-aged, pure and volcanic → Etna's grand crus cost multiples → at $45.99 you're drinking authentic mountain Nerello.

• Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio
• Etna Rosso DOC — Contrada Moganazzi, Castiglione di Sicilia (700m)
• I Custodi — Salvo Foti oenology; alberello vines
• Sandy volcanic soil; 15 months in concrete

Red cherry, wild strawberry and pomegranate over volcanic ash, dried herbs and a savory, saline minerality with fine, dusty tannins. Translation: bright, mineral, Pinot-like Etna red — red fruit and mountain herbs with a smoky, volcanic cut and real energy.

Authentic, traditional Etna Rosso at a fair price. Exactly the bottle for pizza, roast pork, or discovering Sicily's volcano.