Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
ones. Berries also differ: Mascalese's are oval,
medium-small (though many biotypes have
large ones), and light blue, Cappuccio's are
medium-large, round, and dark blue. Nerello
Mascalese is very vigorous but strongly infl u-
enced by vintage characteristics, the area of cul-
tivation, training method, and density of plant-
ing; it's an abundant but irregular producer,
and it's not particularly resistant to common
vine diseases, especially botrytis bunch rot and
oidium.
The grape is a late ripener, and Etna is a
cold place: winemaker Francesco Bartoletti
cautions that choosing the right moment to
deleaf is key: “[Mascalese is] large berried and
thin skinned, [so] proper ripening and botrytis
are always two concerns. If you deleaf too soon,
the berries will sunburn, so best to go ahead in
mid-September. You can't do without it,
though, for if the berries don't ripen fully, this
variety's tannins are green and astringent.
They remain so to a degree even when grapes
are fully ripe. For this reason, macerations have
to be short and fermentation temperatures
can't get too high.” Personally, I would add that
short pruning is an absolute must with this
variety, in order to decrease yields and increase
concentration.
Grown on both sides of the Messina Strait,
Nerello Mascalese is also found in Calabria,
though it is far less common there. Its real
home is Sicily's northeast corner, around the
cities of Messina and Catania (especially on the
northern, eastern, and southern slopes of the
Etna volcano, where vines grow even at one
thousand meters above sea level). Due to its
vigor and the excellent wines it makes, it has
also been planted extensively in the provinces
of Palermo and Agrigento, where producers use
intensive training methods to yield truly ridicu-
lous amounts of grapes (350-400 quintals per
hectare). At roughly thirty-eight hundred hec-
tares, it is the eleventh most commonly culti-
vated variety in Sicily (about 3.5 percent of the
island's surface under vine) and is roughly fi ve
times as common as Nerello Cappuccio. Given
the rampant cultivar misidentifi cation in vine-
yards concerning both varieties, all these statis-
tics are somewhat suspect. But there can be no
doubt that Nerello Mascalese is on a roll, while
Cappuccio is not, and so an increasing differ-
ence in total hectares planted to each is likely.
Which Wines to Choose and Why
One of the reasons that Etna's wines can be so
good is that many vines of Nerello Mascalese
are old and pre-phylloxeric. The grape is usually
blended with Nerello Cappuccio, a good match
because the Mascalese is low in anthocyanins
(color) while the Cappuccio is low in tannins.
The best wines are the DOC Etna Rosso blends,
but up-and-coming Faro wines are good too.
Nerello Mascalese can also be part of the DOC
blends Contea di Sclafani and Sambuca di
Sicilia, or in Calabrian DOCs such as Lamezia;
however, it is not typical of these areas.
Etna Rosso is one of Italy's most exciting
wines today: the penetratingly pure aromas and
fl avors of sour red cherry (unlike the riper
cherry of Nerello Cappuccio wines), tobacco,
aromatic herbs, and minerals will make a
believer of you. Nerello Mascalese wines
express more herbs and tobacco than those
made with Nerello Cappuccio, which tend to be
slightly more fl oral (though fl owers aren't a
typical descriptor of the wines made with either
variety). Many fi nd a Pinot Nero-like quality in
Nerello Mascalese wines, and both grapes have
a remarkable ability to translate even minute
differences in
terroir;
not by chance is the Etna
zone referred to as Italy's Burgundy, with the
many
contrade,
or sectors, of the volcano yield-
ing remarkably different wines.
wines to try:
Benanti*** (I monovitigni
Nerello Mascalese, a standout monovarietal).
For stellar examples of Etna Rosso (essentially
90 percent Nerello Mascalese), try: Tenuta
delle Terre Nere*** (Calderara Sottana, La
Vigna di Don Peppino, Guardiola, Feudo delle
Rose), Girolamo Russo*** (Feudo), Passopisci-
aro*** (Porcaria, Rampante, Sciaranuova), Cal-
cagno** (Arcuria), Graci** (Quota 600), Cot-
tanera**, and Tasca d'Almerita** (Tascante).
