The 2017 Etna Rosso Le Sabbie dell'Etna adopts a classic interpretation from Etna. This is a mid-weight wine with a medium garnet color. The bouquet offers tones of wild berries, dark spice, smoke and licorice. As always, you get those smoky and ashen flavors that remind you of the black volcanic soils of Etna.

The 2014 Etna Rosso Le Sabbie dell’Etna offers a slightly lighter and more translucent appearance in a vintage that sees much darker and more saturated colors across the many new Etna Rosso releases. This wine sports a point of that Etna reduction of flint, brimstone and crushed mineral that masks some of the fruit below. The blend is Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio.

The 2013 Etna Rosso Le Sabbie dell'Etna is a streamlined and subdued expression from Etna with delicate touches of wild berry, ash, campfire smoke and pressed rose. I was not previously familiar with this wine from Firriato but am happy to see that this estate has such a traditional and clean Etna Rosso on offer. The wine opens to a compact, ruby appearance with pretty endnotes of grilled herb, cola and dried berry fruit. It lacks intensity but is stylistically interesting nonetheless.