Etna DOC Rosso Serra della Contessa 2014 - Benanti

Color: Ruby red with garnet hues.
Smell: The nose is fine and elegant, intense, rich, broad, complex, fruity with intense hints of cherry and plum in alcohol, then spicy of tobacco with thick notes of flint minerals and balsamic tones.
Taste: On the palate it is dry, mineral with a marked acidity, pleasant flavor and remarkable persistence, warm and soft with sculpted tannins and a balsamic finish.
Food pairing: Perfect for dishes based on important red meats, game, first courses based on sauces, cold cuts, mature cheeses and mushroom dishes.

Grapes: Nerello Mascalese, a noble autochthonous variety, and Nerello Cappuccio, for centuries on the volcano.
Production area: Contrada Monte Serra, territory of the Municipality of Viagrande (CT), on the southeast side of Etna, on the slopes of the extinct eruptive cone Monte Serra.
Altitude: About 500 meters a.s.l.
Climate: High hill climate, moderated by the proximity of the Ionian Sea, humid and rather rainy in the colder season, with constant ventilation and abundant brightness.
Soil: Sandy, volcanic, rich in minerals, with subacid reaction (pH 6.3).
Plant density: From 9,000 to 10,000 plants per hectare.
Yield per hectare: About 4,500 kg/ha.
Age of the vines: Centennial vines, mostly pre-phylloxera, with free feet.
Breeding system: Traditional system with sapling.
Harvest: Grapes harvested manually between late September and early October.
Vinification: Fermentation in steel at controlled temperature with long maceration, with a specific indigenous yeast selected in the vineyard and cellar by the company after a long experimentation.
Aging: Mostly in 15 hl French oak barrels, for at least 24 months.
Refinement: In bottle for at least 12 months.

Benanti

The Benanti company has firm roots on the slopes of Etna: at the end of the 19th century the grandfather of the current owner, Giuseppe Benanti, was producing wine. The nephew, his namesake, in 1988 pursues the same path to rediscover the traditional vines that have gone out of use to produce quality wines with great passion. Bring the focus of cultivation and production to the Etna terroir by conducting a large zoning work to qualify the various vineyards located on the volcano. Thus begins the great work that will bring the company to extraordinary results by producing wines from vineyards of the best Etna Crus: expressiveness of the territory and terroir in the masterful interpretations of the native vines. The company has also decided to invest in the territories of Pachino and pantelleria always with a renewed desire to enhance the peculiarities of the territory.