Ripe, savory nose for an Etna Rosso with lots of orange peel, white pepper, cloves and tangerines. Some stones and sage, too. Tight and full-bodied with a mineral texture that lightly coats the palate. Broad-shouldered tannins with a long, mineral finish. Drink or hold.

Made with Nerello Mascalese from ancient, pre-phylloxera vines, the Pietradolce 2019 Etna Rosso Archineri has a pretty sense of balance with wild fruit, sour cherry, rosemary, lavender and crushed volcanic stone. The wine is relatively lean in texture; however, it also shows significant tannic structure and power. Production is 7,000 bottles.

A release of 7,000 bottles, the 2017 Etna Rosso Archineri is a fine and delicate expression from Etna that presents concise and carefully laid-out aromas of wild fruit, tart cherry, mountain herb and fresh violets. Not all red wines from this hot and dry vintage have held up as nicely nor are as vibrant as this pretty wine from Michele Faro and his team at Pietradolce. To the palate, the wine is lean and crisp and there is a salty note to the finish. In fact, this is nearly lean enough to enjoy with a seared tuna steak.

The 2016 Etna Rosso Archineri is made with fruit from pre-phylloxera vines aged up to 90 years old. This is a finessed and nuanced expression from a vintage that threw a few curve balls to vintners on Etna where the climate and temperatures can change at the drop of a dime. The finish is shorter compared to vintages of the recent past, but this mid-weight red is very articulate in terms of its aromatic offerings. It shows small-berry aromas with lilac, spice and wild blueberry. Some 7,000 bottles were made.

The 2015 Etna Rosso Archineri is a well-priced wine that gives you a great taste of this extreme, volcanic territory in the deep south of Italy. This vintage offers slightly lower intensity with more drying mineral notes instead of bold primary fruit. This is a common characteristic of Nerello Mascalese in 2015. The wine is aged in tonneaux for 14 months and this process has done much to increase the textural richness and the structure of the wine (given the slightly weaker fruit).