The 2011 Etna Rosso Vinupetra is 70% Nerello Mascalese, 20% Nerello Cappuccio and 10% other indigenous grapes. Fruit is sourced from vines that are more than a century old. The wine is in its infancy now and needs another five years or more to evolve in the bottle. It feels tight and firm with bright berry tones of blackberry and dried cranberry. Salvo Foti has done a great job with tannin management. There-s a special thickness or intensity to this brawny red followed by many deep layers of ripe black fruit. Drink 2015-2025. Vintner Salvo Foti gave one of the most inspirational speeches I have ever had the pleasure of hearing about a decade ago at a press event in Taormina. His thesis was that typicity in wine is created by a force greater than grape variety or territory. That force is humankind and it has to do with how a person has adapted to his or her environment to make the choices that shape the taste and flavor of a wine. More important than indigenous grape, he said, was -indigenous man.- He was referring to the farmers who have worked for generations on Etna, learning how to hoe the gravely earth, position head-pruned vines and use mules on steep terrains instead of tractors. Uomoetneo (a man or person from Etna) is the defining element of a true Etna Rosso. Salvo Foti, a native of the volcano and one of its most prolific consulting winemakers, is the original uomoetneo and the proudest proponent of Etna pride. Importer: Louis Dressner Selections, www.louisdressner.com