“Pietramarina” Bianco Etna DOC 2024

Giovanni Rosso | Montedolce | Sicily
Azienda Agricola Giovanni Rosso | Via Roddino 10/1 | IT 12050 Serralunga d’Alba

19290424 · 0,75 l · 118,67 €/l · Price (DE) incl. VAT, excl. Shipping< 24 units available
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Davide Rosso had long since successfully written the Serralunga chapter when he rode up Etna for the first time in 2014. He was not looking for a second mainstay. He was looking for a terroir that would challenge him – as the limestone marl of Serralunga had once challenged him. He found it on the northern slope of the volcano, in the Solicchiata fraction, and bought a 14-hectare estate in Contrada Montedolce in 2016. An old palmento, lava soil, 750 metres above sea level. But he didn't stop there. In 2023, he acquired two more hectares in Contrada Pietra Marina – one of the best white vineyards in the entire Etna region, historically famous for the quality of its Carricante, directly influenced by the nearby Alcantara River. The soils here are a unique mixture: volcanic sand and ash, enriched by fluvial silt and sandstone, shaped by thousands of years of tectonic and hydraulic forces. No other piece of land on Etna offers this specific dual character – volcanic energy and mineral river coolness in one vineyard.

The first vintage is 2024 and the wine bears the name "Ester Canale" – the same family honour as the Barolo Vigna Rionda, the house's most brilliant cuvée. No coincidence: Davide Rosso reserves this name for what he considers to be the most important. 100% Carricante, Alberello vineyard on the northern flank of the volcano. High altitudes, constant ventilation, wide day-night temperature differences – slow, precise ripening. The vinification is purist: spontaneous fermentation, ageing on the fine lees in steel, regular bâtonnage. The wood is not allowed to speak – only the soil and the micro-terroir speak.

Clear straw yellow in the glass with a pale green hue. The nose is precise and expressive: juicy lemons, candied ginger, sage, white pepper, wet stone – and underneath that fine quinine note that Falstaff described as "cinchona bark" and which no other terroir produces in this way. Powerful and compact on the palate, with exceptional texture and precision, vibrant acidity and a final of impressive length – salty, iodised, mineral to the last breath. Oh yes: liquid stone, says Antonio Galloni. He is right. SUPERIORE.DE

"Sparkling straw yellow with a delicate greenish tinge. Smells splendid and open-hearted on the nose of juicy lemons, candied ginger, sage, wet stone, with a fine aftertaste of cinchona bark, wormwood and grapefruit. Great juiciness and race on the palate, powerful, compact, with a lot of melting and precision, great feel, lingers for a long time, very salty on the final." Falstaff

"The 2024 Etna Bianco Pietramarina presents a remarkably pretty and complex blend of white peach, honeydew melon, stone dust and citrus spice. The wine is beautifully balanced, showing mineral fruit and hints of chamomile on a core of bright acidity. A sense of liquid stone mingles with a hint of sweet herbs as the 2024 finishes with superb length and an airy verve. Very well done. This is a fun interpretation of Pietramarina, and also the first I've encountered outside of the Benanti portfolio." Vinous

"Giovanni Rosso's Ester Canale Rosso bottling is, perhaps somewhat confusingly, an Etna bianco from the north side of the volcano at over 530 metres above sea level. It's a tantalising wine, especially in the 2024 vintage, with aromas of salted Sicilian lemon and subtle peach and apple scents rising from the glass. In the mouth, it is very straightforward, with bright intensity of lemon zest and citrus pulp. Concentrated, juicy and very savoury, its zesty energy is only tamed by the slightly creamy and slightly warming finish. A versatile and delicious wine for the table." Decanter

"This deftly cut white entices with its juicy range of yellow peach, mango and golden apple fruit, supported by a lightly chalky texture and an underlying, minerally streak of salinity. Shows good focus and a lovely buoyant character while expanding on the palate, offering delicate notes of wild ginestra, sage, spun honey, blanched almond and white pepper before turning creamy on the long finish." Wine Spectator

"Rich stony minerality with white pepper, broom flowers and lemon paste. Slightly peaty. Full-bodied, it shines with lively density, bright fruit definition and a long, super-savoury, iodine-rich finish." James Suckling