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2021 Girolamo Russo, San Lorenzo Piano delle Colombe, Etna Rosso

Regular price $175
/
2021 Girolamo Russo, San Lorenzo Piano delle Colombe, Etna Rosso

2021 Girolamo Russo, San Lorenzo Piano delle Colombe, Etna Rosso

Regular price $175
/
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With wines exponentially more flamboyant and outgoing than he, Giuseppe of Girolamo Russo has made a fine name for himself in the vibrant world of Sicily's Mount Etna. Known for invigorating and age-worthy reds and whites from single-vineyard plots, the highlights here are many, but all of them inspired, individual examples of the wild complexities that Etna possesses.

Girolamo Russo

While the estate takes the name of his father, it is Giuseppe Rosso who is behind one of the favorite names in the Etna-ssance that is ongoing. A native of Passopisciaro - a village on the north face of the Volcano, Giuseppe was not trained in oenology, yet had somewhat unknowingly spent his early years training to make wine.

Girolamo oversaw 12 hectares of vines in Passopisciaro, selling his grapes in bulk to help make ends meet when Giuseppe was young. While Russo the younger had studied both music (namely piano) and literature, in 2004 he was given the opportunity to take hold of his father's vines. This was an exciting time on the great slopes of Etna - notable vinous legends such as Salvo Foti and Frank Cornelissen were metaphorically and literally building roots in Etna, and Giuseppe took the opportunity to learn from his neighbors and future mentors - admitting his knowledge was limited to experience only, and absorbing lessons from every one of them.

What this has borne out is a love and care for each individual site as its own character in the "plot" - I mean that as in an element to a story, but it could easily be a physical plot. You see, Etna's every corner and slope is full of wildly different extremes, redefined over eons by liquid hot magma - thank you, Dr. Evil. Taking a cue from his mentors as well as from centuries of tradition (and learn-ed knowledge), the vines are trained in alberello formation - bush-trained, in a way, but in a perfect geometrical formation that resembles a box-and-one basketball defense: four square, the fifth in the middle. This allows for the perfect strain on each and every vine to maximize the concentration of each cluster.

Gifted some vines nearly a century old from his father's stock, Giuseppe's wines are not as humble and shy as he - much the opposite. Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio are chief here, with a nice splash of Carricante to produce the vibrant whites as well. Everything is performed organically in the vineyard as it has been for over a century, and in the cellar, small-lot fermentations are the preference in Slavonian oak and cement vessels.

Meet the Producer

Girolamo Russo

With wines exponentially more flamboyant and outgoing than he, Giuseppe of Girolamo Russo has made a fine name for himself in the vibrant world of Sicily's Mount Etna. Known for invigorating and age-worthy reds and whites from single-vineyard plots, the highlights here are many, but all of them inspired, individual examples of the wild complexities that Etna possesses.

While the estate takes the name of his father, it is Giuseppe Rosso who is behind one of the favorite names in the Etna-ssance that is ongoing. A native of Passopisciaro - a village on the north face of the Volcano, Giuseppe was not trained in oenology, yet had somewhat unknowingly spent his early years training to make wine.

Girolamo oversaw 12 hectares of vines in Passopisciaro, selling his grapes in bulk to help make ends meet when Giuseppe was young. While Russo the younger had studied both music (namely piano) and literature, in 2004 he was given the opportunity to take hold of his father's vines. This was an exciting time on the great slopes of Etna - notable vinous legends such as Salvo Foti and Frank Cornelissen were metaphorically and literally building roots in Etna, and Giuseppe took the opportunity to learn from his neighbors and future mentors - admitting his knowledge was limited to experience only, and absorbing lessons from every one of them.

What this has borne out is a love and care for each individual site as its own character in the "plot" - I mean that as in an element to a story, but it could easily be a physical plot. You see, Etna's every corner and slope is full of wildly different extremes, redefined over eons by liquid hot magma - thank you, Dr. Evil. Taking a cue from his mentors as well as from centuries of tradition (and learn-ed knowledge), the vines are trained in alberello formation - bush-trained, in a way, but in a perfect geometrical formation that resembles a box-and-one basketball defense: four square, the fifth in the middle. This allows for the perfect strain on each and every vine to maximize the concentration of each cluster.

Gifted some vines nearly a century old from his father's stock, Giuseppe's wines are not as humble and shy as he - much the opposite. Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio are chief here, with a nice splash of Carricante to produce the vibrant whites as well. Everything is performed organically in the vineyard as it has been for over a century, and in the cellar, small-lot fermentations are the preference in Slavonian oak and cement vessels.


The Wine Advocate

Wine Advocate

97

Made with 100% Nerello Mascalese, the Girolamo Russo 2021 Etna Rosso San Lorenzo Piano delle Colombe represents a very special selection of fruit from 80-year-old vines from a half-hectare subsection of the excellent San Lorenzo vineyard. Giuseppe Russo says that his father Girolamo would tell him that this tiny patch of vineyard behaved better than the rest in terms of its slow ripening and ensuing complexity. A balanced vintage like 2021 conveys a beautiful sense of consistency and intensity with pressed flower, wild berry fruit, cassis and a citrusy close. The wine spent 18 days on the skins and aged in tonneaux and barrique for 18 months. It is only produced in the best years, and this vintage saw a mere 750 bottles produced. This is a stunning wine from Etna, and I say that because of its impressive clarity and precision of flavors.

Vinous

Vinous

95

The 2021 Etna Rosso San Lorenzo Piano delle Colombe is intense and youthfully backward, grumbling up with a tightly coiled yet complex bouquet. Exotic spices emerge amidst a mix of dried berries, with shavings of cedar and hints of forest floor that ground the experience. It’s elegant and harmonious throughout. Textures of pure silk gain lift through brilliant acidity as a coating of chalky minerals saturates and ripe wild berry fruit cascade throughout. This tapers off with a piercing layer of fine tannin as violet inner florals and notes of tart blackberry linger on. This is the most complete interpretation of Piano delle Colombe I’ve experienced. In a word: superb.

What the Critics are Saying

The Wine Advocate

Wine Advocate

97

Made with 100% Nerello Mascalese, the Girolamo Russo 2021 Etna Rosso San Lorenzo Piano delle Colombe represents a very special selection of fruit from 80-year-old vines from a half-hectare subsection of the excellent San Lorenzo vineyard. Giuseppe Russo says that his father Girolamo would tell him that this tiny patch of vineyard behaved better than the rest in terms of its slow ripening and ensuing complexity. A balanced vintage like 2021 conveys a beautiful sense of consistency and intensity with pressed flower, wild berry fruit, cassis and a citrusy close. The wine spent 18 days on the skins and aged in tonneaux and barrique for 18 months. It is only produced in the best years, and this vintage saw a mere 750 bottles produced. This is a stunning wine from Etna, and I say that because of its impressive clarity and precision of flavors.

Vinous

Vinous

95

The 2021 Etna Rosso San Lorenzo Piano delle Colombe is intense and youthfully backward, grumbling up with a tightly coiled yet complex bouquet. Exotic spices emerge amidst a mix of dried berries, with shavings of cedar and hints of forest floor that ground the experience. It’s elegant and harmonious throughout. Textures of pure silk gain lift through brilliant acidity as a coating of chalky minerals saturates and ripe wild berry fruit cascade throughout. This tapers off with a piercing layer of fine tannin as violet inner florals and notes of tart blackberry linger on. This is the most complete interpretation of Piano delle Colombe I’ve experienced. In a word: superb.