Graci, Contrada Arcuria, Etna Rosso 2016 - 75cl
Alberto Graci walked away from a career in finance to take over his family's Etna vines, and the wine that made his name is this one — Arcuria, a single contrada on the volcano's north-eastern flank above Passopisciaro. The 2016 was a cool, unhurried growing season, and a decade on it now shows the softer, resolved side of Nerello Mascalese rather than the taut youth of a recent release.
Arcuria sits between roughly 600 and 700 metres on old volcanic soils in Castiglione di Sicilia, planted entirely to Nerello Mascalese. Graci farms organically and keeps the winemaking deliberately quiet — long maceration, then ageing in concrete and large oak rather than small barrels, so nothing gets in the way of the site. What you taste is lava, not carpentry.
This has reached the stretch where Etna reds start to resemble aged Burgundy or Barolo. Bright ruby fading at the rim, a nose of dried red cherry, undergrowth, menthol and a whiff of leather. The palate is medium-bodied and savoury, tannins gone silky, with that saline, ash-stained mineral edge Etna does like nowhere else. Drinking beautifully now — I'd open it this year rather than wait for more.
How to Serve
Serve at 15-16°C. Decant 45 minutes ahead; a mature Etna Rosso still wants a little air to shake off the bottle. Use a Burgundy bowl to gather the perfume.
Where to Drink It
Noble Rot in Soho, whose list adores this kind of transparent, terroir-led red. Trivet, where the wine team will find it a home on the tasting menu. Bright in Hackney for a low-key evening built around it.
Food Pairings
Roast guinea fowl with wild mushrooms plays to its earthy maturity. Failing that, a plate of aged pecorino and a few walnuts lets the savoury finish do the talking.
