The Nerello Mascalese Grape

(Synonyms: Mascalese Nera, Mascalisi, Nerello Calabrese, Nerello Carbunaru, Nerello di Mascali, Nerello Nostrate, Nerello Paesano, Niureddu, Nieruddu Mascalese.)

Background

Nerello Mascalese is a red-wine grape originating in the Etna region of Sicily, which remains its primary and almost sole home today. It is not yet very well known outside Italy, but most critics consider it a star-class wine.

Nerello Mascalese appears in the wines of several Italian DOCs, but is the major player in the Etna Rosso and Faro DOCs. Even there, it can, by law, be blended with not over 20% of Nerello Capuccio and other local varieties, though mnonovarietal bottlings are common. Many producers of serious Nerello Mascalese view blending with a certain amount of scorn, considering it a noble and complex wine on its own. This wine is one of the rising stars of our time, and is well worth investigating by those not yet familiar with it.

A typical Nerello Mascalese tends to be light in color and fairly alcoholic, causing some to compare it to Pinot Noir, with which it shares—besides its general nature—the quality of being drinkable young yet gaining greatly from careful aging. As you can see for yourself from the quotations below, an awful lot of wine experts regard Nerello Mascalese as one of the great wines of the world, ready to break into the “Noble Grapes” list.

Factoid: Nerello Mascalese is now thought to be a crossing of Sangiovese and another (as yet unidentified) variety.

Some Descriptions of Nerello Mascalese Wines

Wine Searcher
“Its wines, which have had a rapid upsurge in popularity in the last decade, have a tendency to reflect their surroundings, giving taut, fresh red wines with fruity, herbaceous flavors, excellent minerality and an earthy nuance. Nerello Mascalese wines often have a perfume reminiscent of those of the noble wines of Barolo and Burgundy…The hugely variable volcanic soils of Etna combined with elevations of up to 1000m above sea level—some of the highest vineyards in Europe—help produce wines with immense character and complexity, and without the excessive weight that often characterizes Sicilian red wines from lower altitudes.”
Wine Folly
“Nerello Mascalese hits your mouth with an explosion of red fruit flavors that leads into spice notes of cinnamon and floral dried desert herbs. Finer examples of Nerello Mascalese from Etna in Sicily finish long with tingly acidity, a rustic black volcanic earthy note, and medium weight fine-grained tannins. With the elegance of Pinot Noir and the explosive exuberance of Zinfandel, Nerello Mascalese is delightfully easy to drink.”
Jancis Robinson
“Noble, late-ripening Sicilian variety that retains its acidity well and is responsible for some dense and haunting reds on the slopes of Mount Etna.”
Beppi Crosariol, The Globe and Mail
“If you detect a note of minerality in wines made from nerello mascalese, you’re probably not tasting a direct transference from the airborne dust or sulphurous smoke. Locals instead theorize that the tangy essence derives from old-vine roots burrowing deep into the rocky soil in search of nutrients. Yet there’s much more to love about nerello mascalese than minerals. Some describe the wine as a cross between delicately fruity Burgundian pinot noir and firm nebbiolo, the bracing, robust, high-acid grape that yields northern Italy’s majestic Barolo reds. Unlike the typically more plump Sicilian reds grown on lower ground, the nerello mascalese wines on Etna derive their fresh acidity from the cool growing environment of the mountain’s elevation, with some vineyards reaching beyond 1,000 metres above the sea. Like red Burgundy and Barolo, nerello mascalese wines, whether from Etna or from vineyards elsewhere in eastern Sicily, also tend to be deceptively light in colour, belying their often high alcohol and rich glycerin mouth feel, products of the Mediterranean island’s blessed sunshine. Most good examples, to my mind, exhibit little if any influence from new oak barrels, permitting the grape to speak of its rugged landscape with nervy firmness and an attractively bitter, food-friendly bite rather than having its unique charms obscured by notes of vanilla and toast common to so many cabernets and merlots matured for many months in freshly charred wood.”
Santa Maria la Nave
“The organoleptic characteristics of the monovarietal Nerello Mascalese generally are a ruby red color, with subtle grenade tones; a strong fruity scent of red berry fruits, with slight floral shades, a spicy hint, and a feeble effusion of vanilla and tobacco, with a persistent trace of licorice; and a dry, tannic, persistent and harmonic taste, with a strong body. At sight, the wine seems surely more mature than it appears when smelled or tasted. ”
Vine Pair
“Put down the Pinot Noir and step away from the corkscrew. There’s a new light red in town, and—I’m going to say it—it’s better.…Like Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo, Nerello Mascalese is light in color and body but big on flavor, tannins, and aromatics…Taste by taste, no two Nerello Mascalese wines are alike.…”
World’s Best Wines
“Nerello Mascalese is also a quality vine that is compared to other such contemporary varieties like the Pinot Noir because of its characteristic taste, colour and tannins…The grape exhibits a unique blend of mineral like notes with dominant fruity flavours that taste very similar to Burgundy Pinot Noir (and hence its comparison to the French variety)…The Mascalese has a more intense aroma to it making it ideal for those would want to experiment with stronger flavours and intense aromas.”
The Drinks Business
[Winemaker Anne-Louise Mikkelsen says] ‘Right now [with Etna], you’re buying into wines with terroir, wines that are deriving from vines that are 50 to 80 years old; tell me where you get that elsewhere at this price—you don’t. And you’re talking about a grape, Nerello Mascalese, that actually manages to transmit the terroir it’s growing on. We have, I think, four really good red wine grapes that manage thatMNebbiolo, Sangiovese, Pinot Noir and Nerello Mascalese.’…The wines of Etna also have the currency of being wines of volcanic origin—a loose category which continues to grow in popularity among sommeliers and consumers.“”
Taste Atlas
“The grape produces medium-body and fruity red wines that have firm tannins and bright acidity. The wines may slightly vary in character, but they usually include aromas and flavors reminiscent of red berries and spices…The grape is often compared to Pinot Noir, and it is thought to descendent from Sangiovese.”
Steve De Long
“Wines made from Nerrello Mascalese have a distinctive aroma and flavor that can be described as (I'll take a shot): almond/cherry liquor/herbal/red fruits and sometimes balsamic and/or menthol. They are usually pale to medium garnet and often have the a brick colored rim of an aged wine even when young. Their refreshing levels of acidity combined with their high tannins show the potential to age very well.”

Some Nerello Mascaleses to Try

For a Splurge

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This page was last modified on Saturday, 30 October 2021, at 11:26 pm Pacific Time.

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