The 2015 Etna Rosso Vinupetra offers a bright and buoyant bouquet that shows extra lift and intensity, thanks to a very mild touch of volatile acidity that gives prominence and definition to the bouquet. You are treated to energized aromas of wild cherry, summer apricot and fragrant rose hip with delicate tones of ashy powder and dark smoke on the finish. This is a mid-weight red wine with soft fruit and sweet ripeness on the close. Fruit is sourced from the Vigna Calderara cru in the Contrada Porcheria and the blend is 70% Nerello Mascalese, 15% Nerello Cappuccio, 10% Grenache and 5% other mixed grapes, including Fancisi. Only 2,550 bottles were made. Because of the slightly riper nature of the fruit, I'm giving this vintage a slightly shorter drinking window.

The I Vigneri 2014 Etna Rosso Vinupetra is a terrific wine that offers a uniquely high threshold when it comes to brightness and aromatic intensity. There might be a touch of that proverbial volatile acidity that works so nicely in the wine's favor. It serves to enhance the bouquet. Dark cherry, apricot, candied orange peel and mild spice appear on the nose. The wine moves softly over the palate with silky intensity and firm structure.

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