The 2013 Etna Rosso Orphéus (made with 80% Nerello Mascalese and 20% Nerello Cappuccio from 50-year-old vines) is a dark and textured red wine that perhaps offers a little less definition in terms of the bouquet. All the elements are there—berry fruit, spice, smoke and tar—but both the intensity and the definition are taken down a notch in this vintage. Some 20,000 bottles were made.

Floral and red rose aromas are even more pronounced on the 2012 Etna Rosso Orphéus. This wine shows a delicate and subtle quality with mineral and volcanic tones that play a background role to pressed flower and mountain herb. The style is slightly more evolved and oxidized. The finish is very silky and smooth, and this wine presents integrated tannins that make it suitable for near-term drinking.

I had tasted the 2011 Etna Rosso Orphéus last year and the wine showed some astringent tannins back then. It has relaxed and fleshed out some since then. The wine shows more red fruit and dark forest berry to contrast those thorny tones of volcanic ash and black olive.

Scilio’s 2009 Orpheus Rosso (Nerello Mascalese) emerges from the glass with juicy dark cherries, licorice, menthol, tar and spices, all of which come together on a big, large-scaled frame for the Etna. Floral notes add lift and finesse on the delineated, beautifully articulated finish. Constantly changing in the glass, the Orpheus is at times delicate, while in other moments it is much deeper and intense. In a nutshell it is a wine that perfectly captures the seeming contradictions that are the miracle of the Etna; power and grace at the same time. Simply put, this is a fabulous effort from Scilio. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2019. Despite a long history stretching over 100 years, Scilio is another Etna winery that has come on strong, especially over the last few years. These three wines were among the very finest I tasted for this article. The estate also makes a hugely delicious rose which will be long gone by the time this article is published. I can’t recommend the Scilio wines highly enough. Importer: North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 336-9880

This interesting cuvee exhibits a ruby/purple color in addition to big, chunky, vanilla scents intermixed with earth, tar, red and black fruits, and pepper. Though I find the wine spicy, deep, and enjoyable, I would not gamble on much aging. However, for drinking over the next 2-3 years, there is plenty to like. A good question for wine trivia buffs is to identify the two grapes that make up this wine (80% Nerello Mascalee and 20% Nerello Mantellato). An even more complicated question is to identify the wood in which the wine was aged. Answer: 65% French and 35% American oak.Importer: John Given Wines, Staatsburg, NY; tel. (845) 266-3554