97pts Vinous

The 2023 Etna Rosso Prephylloxera La Vigna di Don Peppino Calderara Sottana opens like a flower shop on the nose, intensely layered with depths of black cherry and spice. This is more lifted and graceful than expected, with a sour citrus tinge, tart wild berry fruits and mineral tones. Edgy tannins pinch at the cheeks as the 2023 resonates with blue and purple inner florals and a bitter licorice concentration that lingers impossibly long.

96pts James Suckling

Exquisite, this has an intense Mediterranean style with cherry-jelly and strawberry aromas enhanced by licorice, cola, earthy minerality and whiffs of smoke. Medium- to full-bodied. Very chewy and balanced, it’s youthful and tight yet well-woven and refined. 

Winemaker Notes

On the northern slopes of Mount Etna, Sicily, there is a small vineyard that dates back to 1880, named “La Vigna di Don Peppino” It's a parcel, or lieu dit so to speak, located amidst Calderara Sottana. The vineyard is sandy soils enriched by volcanic ash/stone and the vines are 100+ years old. Nerello Mascalese is the flavor of the day.