I recently posted pictures on social media of a 2007 and a 2008 Etna Rosso wines that I had recently acquired.
I posted the image because older editions of Mt Etna wines are relatively scare on the retail market. Brandon Tokash, my good friend, and go-to resource on all things Etna, reminded me that I had met the vineyard owner at my first Contrada dell’Etna which was held, then, at the Graci winery on Mt Etna. With this memory jogger I recalled this slight woman telling me the story of a lava flow from a Mt Etna eruption almost totally destroying the farm but changing direction before consuming it entirely. That woman was Chiara Vigo and the spared farm was Fattorio Romeo del Castell. I will discuss both in this post.
Brandon describes Chiara and her estate thusly:
A small in stature young lady who wrote an interesting book on wine labels 18 or so years ago. One of her vineyards finishes up against a 10-foot wall of lava that came down some years ago. It is quite a sight with her 120-year-old vines pictured against the lava wall.
Fattorio Romeo del Castell — helmed by Chiara and her mother Roseanne Romeo — traces its history back to Chiara’s great grandfather who produced wine therein during the first half of the 1900s. Prior to a 1981 eruption of Mt Etna, the farm occupied a surface area of 60 ha. This was reduced to 30 ha by the wall of lava that traversed the land and whose remnants still serve as a testament to the land’s encounter with this force of nature.
One of the attributes that sets the estate apart from other Mt Etna vineyards was also the feature that had wrought the original destruction: the lava wall. The wall creates a unique microclimate for the estate in that it affects wind flows and, in so doing, (i) affects how the wind hits the vines and (ii) modulates the temperature behind the wall.
The current edition of the farm sits at 700 m asl at the confluence of three parks: Etna Park, dei Nebrodi, and Alcantra River Park. Soils on the farm are volcanic ash and sandstone and they serve as the underlying support for 14 ha of vines and olive, pear, chestnut, and oak trees. Thirteen ha of vines fall within the Etna DOC territory and these are planted to Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio. The vineyard boasts 3 ha of centenary vines; the remainder were planted in 2004. The vineyard is certified organic.
Subsequent to the winemaking exploits of Chiara’s great grandfather, the estate sold its grapes. Chiara had left the farm to pursue her studies, returning after obtaining her PhD. In conversations with Salvo Foti, the renowned Etna wine guru made her aware that her vineyard was truly a gem. She decided to make wine from the estate’s grapes and enlisted Salvo’s assistance in the endeavor. Salvo mentored her by having her work with members of his iVigneri construct and, in the early years, served as her oenologist.
The first vintage produced by the estate was 2007. It utilized fruit from the centenary vines and was named Vigo in honor of Chiara’s Dad. Both the 2007 and 2008 were fermented in stainless steel and aged in barrel. The wines produced currently are shown below.
Characteristics | Etna Rosato Vigorosa | Etna Rosso Allegracore | Etna Rosso Vigo |
Varieties | Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Capuccio | Nerello Mascalese | Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Capuccio |
Soil | Volcanic | Volcanic | Volcanic |
Farming Technique | Biodynamic | Organic | Organic |
Training | Alberello | Alberello | Alberello |
Vine Age | 100 Years | Planted 2004 | Up to 100 years |
Harvesting | Hand | Hand | Hand |
Fermentation Vessel | SS tanks | 5000l tanks | 5000l tanks |
Fermentation | Macerate for a few hours; indigenous yeasts | Fermentation and maceration 15 - 20 days; indigenous yeasts | 12 days; indigenous yeasts |
Aging Vessel | SS tanks | SS tanks | Barriques |
Aging | 4 months | 12 months | MLF then aged ifor 12 months in barrique; 6 months in bottle |
There have been a number of substantive changes since those initial vintages:
- Chiara has taken over responsibility for all aspects of wine production
- The base Etna Rosso wine is called Allegracore (2009) and is made with grapes sourced from the vines planted in 2004
- The Vigo wine continues to be sourced from the centenary vines but is only produced in outstanding vintages.
Tasting the Wines
I tasted 2007 and 2008 vintages of the Vigo but was so put off by the difference between the two that I ended up tasting three separate bottles of the ‘07 in order to find one equivalent to the quality of the ‘08.
The 2008 was pleasant on the nose with a savory note, grass, earth, sweet red fruit, and a bit of beeswax. On the palate ripe tamarind, spice, good acid levels, and a long, lingering finish. Palate-enveloping mouthfeel with fully resolved tannins.
The initial 2007 was smoky on the nose with red fruit, granny’s attic, and metallic minerality on the palate. Still structured with full resolution in the offing. Markedly different from the ‘08 so I opened another. This showed olives, red fruit, potpourri, and red pepper on the nose. Wood and coal tar on the palate. Still some freshness but astringent. Needs time?
The third bottle of 2007, drunk a few days later, had a portiness on the nose along with black pepper spice. Broad. Slight green on the palate along with non-silky tannins and coal tar. Unimpressive finish.
The wines utilized in this taste test were acquired from EatalyVino in New York City. There are differences between the 08 and 07 vintages which may be weather-related or winemaking-related and the differences within the 07 vintage may be due to a number of factors to include batch differentials, transportation, storage, etc.
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Brandon had described Chiara as being among the “first wave of modern Etna producers,” placing her in the company of breakout stars such as Andrea Franchetti, Marc de Grazia and Frank Cornelisen. Her wines have not attained the acclaim of the wines of these giants; why?
These producers all have great plots but, according to Salvo Foti and Brandon, so does Chiara. These guys are all marketing and promotion geniuses with attendant innovative winemaking skills. Chiara depended on Salvo Foti for her early wines and was not in the same ballpark as regards marketing and promotion. According to Brandon, Chiara had a lot of different interests and never really dedicated herself to wine and winemaking. Finally, these first-movers were most likely better capitalized than Chiara.
I have tasted the early wines of the estate herein. I will follow up with a comparison of some of the more recent vintages in a future post.
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