Etna Rosso Rumex, Monteleone

Rumex is Monteleone’s cru Etna Rosso, 100% Nerello Mascalese from a single vineyard on Etna’s northern slope, in Contrada Pontale Palino. A beautifully precise Etna Rosso, lifted and mineral, with fine tannins and real depth. Classic north-facing Etna character. Elegant rather than powerful, with plenty of energy and length. The Rumex site is ringed by sciara (mounds of volcanic scoriae formed along lava flows), and the soils are volcanic sand with some gravel — classic ingredients for Etna reds that lean into line, lift and detail. This is also the wine that flags one of the estate’s most special pieces of vineyard history: the vines here are over a century old, trained in the traditional Alberello Etneo (bush vine) system, and they survived the 1911 eruption. The Nerello Mascalese grapes are harvested by hand early in the morning, then fermented in small tanks without temperature control, with 10–12 days’ maceration and manual punch-downs. Malolactic happens in oak tonneaux with indigenous lactic bacteria, and the ageing is patient and layered: 16 months in 500L and 300L French oak tonneaux, then 2 months in concrete, and 6 months in bottle before release.