Planeta Etna Rosso 2019

Very smoky and intense with cherries, berries and some orange peel and ash. It’s full-bodied, but not overbearing, with lovely fruit and citrus character at the finish. Drinkable now, but better in a year or two. Try after 2022.

The Planeta 2019 Etna Rosso is primary and less formal overall but still very true to the classic fundamentals of an Etna red. The bouquet is immediate in its delivery of wild rose, cassis and dried raspberry. It's no surprise that those distinctive volcanic tones of dry ash and earth also play a leading role. This Rosso is lean and streamlined with nice freshness to conclude. Serve it with a classic Sicilian pasta alla Norma (tomato, eggplant and ricotta salata). Some 53,000 bottles were made. - Monica Larner.