Engaging minerals, white pepper funk, mezcal, orange zest and a gamey, sulfurous note. Really juicy and broad on the palate with firm, powdery tannins that dissipate into the long, savory finish. Drink now.

The Pietradolce 2019 Etna Rosso Contrada Santo Spirito sees grapes sourced from ancient, knotted pre-phylloxera Nerello Mascalese vines. The wine is well balanced with lots of fruit and ashy spice. It immediately reminds you of the striking volcanic environment from which it comes. The tannins on this wine are fine and polished. Production is 4,000 bottles.

Another 2017 release of 4,000 bottles and also from pre-phylloxera Nerello Mascalese vines, the Pietradolce 2017 Etna Rosso Contrada Santo Spirito is really quite beautifully balanced and composed in the vintage, more so than I would have expected given some of the excessive heat that came during the summer months. With fruit from a vineyard site in Castiglione di Sicilia, the wine reveals a polished, dark ruby appearance with lighthearted aromas of sour cherry and tart cassis. Those delicate berry embellishments are wrapped around spice, mineral and earth.

The 2016 Etna Rosso Contrada Santo Spirito shows some of the difficulty of the vintage with a mild and slightly subdued approach. This wine might flesh out with more time in the bottle, but I'm afraid that the inner fiber of the vintage is just weaker overall. This is a great choice for near or medium-term drinking. The wine is loaded with forest berry, tar, smoke and licorice. Some 5,000 bottles were released.