Pietradolce Vigna Barbagalli 2018

This is the top red wine made by Pietradolce, and its striking black label is meant to underline its importance in the estate portfolio. The 2017 Etna Rosso Barbagalli offers a pretty garnet color and a lean to mid-weight approach. Made with fruit from pre-phylloxera vines from one of the highest elevation vineyards in the appellation (at 950 meters above sea level), this is always a study in elegance, and the integrity of the fruit transcends most problematic vintage variations thanks to the hearty resilience of the vines and their extended root systems. This wine shows composure and equilibrium with an incredibly glossy or silky quality of fruit with berry, smoke, tar and campfire ash. That old-vine concentration and power (with 15% alcohol) also comes through clearly.

Barbagalli is a one-hectare amphitheatre of 80- to 100-year-old vines in Contrada Rampante on Etna's northern slopes at 950m, producing up to 2,000 bottles. It undergoes maceration on the skins for 18 days in concrete tanks, followed by 20 months in French tonneaux. It has a huge structure paired with masses of freshness characterised by a balsamic character and clean acidity. The wood has yet to integrate but it's clear that this is one of Etna's finest reds: black cherry, earth, dark berries and some dried fruit give it a sense of plushness, while the fine tannins and lively acidity give it the legs to last.

Layers of smoke, ash, crushed walnuts and cranberries on the nose. It’s medium-to full-bodied with sleek, tight tannins. Lots of ripe and dried red fruit on the palate with citrus peel and tobacco, too. Precise and tight finish. Lots of old-vine magic here.

Big and concentrated, this has aromas of mature black-skinned fruit, scorched soil and menthol. Reflecting the heat of the vintage, the brawny, chewy palate offers prune marinated in spirits, licorice and vanilla alongside close-grained tannins that leave a drying finish. You'll also notice the heat of evident alcohol.

Alberello-trained vines up to 100 years old yielded this intensely concentrated wine. Flavors of black plum and red apple skin crowd together with notes of tar, licorice and iodine, those flavors underscored by jagged black-rock tannins. This could never be mistaken for anything but a volcanic wine, and its extreme expression of smoke, savor and minerality is not for the faint of heart

Beautifully fragrant, exuding incense, exotic spice and wild herb aromas, this graceful version shows focus and complexity without excessive weight, layering the fine-grained tannins and poached black cherry, leather and mineral flavors on a bright, medium-bodied frame. Drink now through 2027.