A lighter-style Nerello Mascalese from Cantine Rallo's Baglio Antico range, sourced from biodynamically managed old vines on volcanic terraces on Etna at 570 metres altitude — ripe, juicy, and unoaked with the refreshing acidity that makes Etna reds so compelling.
Tasting Notes
Ripe and juicy with black cherry and hints of pepper. The 10-day maceration with 30% whole bunch keeps the wine light and fresh rather than extracted. Unoaked, with deliciously refreshing acidity and a clean, mineral Etna finish. A lighter example of Nerello Mascalese that drinks beautifully young without sacrificing the grape's essential character.
Quick Facts
- Grapes: 95% Nerello Mascalese, 5% native varieties
- Origin: Italy, Sicily, Mount Etna (Contrada Santa Feudo di Mezzo, 570m altitude, volcanic terraces, sandy and stony soils, 70 to 80-year-old vines)
- Style: Dry natural red, biodynamic, minimal sulphur, unfiltered, unfined
- Winemaking: Hand harvested, 30% whole bunch and 70% destemmed, 10-day maceration with 3 to 4 punch-downs, co-fermented with indigenous yeasts, aged in 500L casks, no filtration or fining, tiny 2mg/L sulphur before bottling
- Suitable for vegetarians and vegans
Food Pairing
Whatever you like. The winemaker simply says to stay away from sweet food — everything else is fair game.
Serving
Serve at 14-16°C. Open 10 minutes before serving.
About the Producer
Cantine Rallo is a historic Sicilian estate founded in 1860 in the Marsala area of western Sicily. Since the Vesco family took ownership in the 1990s and converted to organic farming, the estate has become one of the island's most interesting producers, farming without chemicals across vineyards in Alcamo, Marsala, and Pantelleria. The Baglio Antico range represents their most artisanal, low-intervention wines.
