Pietradolce Etna Rosso Archineri 2010

Pietradolce was established in 2005 and found its home in Solicchiata, located in the Northern slopes of Mount Etna. The vineyards extend over an area of 11 hectares at a height of between 600 and 900 feet above sea level. Wines are normally produced from Pre-Phylloxera vines of about 80-130 years old (bushy shape). Pietradolce follow criteria of organic agriculture and all the operations are conducted by hand. At Pietradolce they only use the traditional varieties of Carricante for white and Nerello Mascalese for red. However, there is a little Nerello Cappuccio mixed in with the Mascalese. Michele describes Mascalese as fine and elegant.

Why Pietradolce?
1. Pietradolce’s Location:
Pietradolce is located on Mount Etna, which is Europe’s highest volcano, soaring up to 10,990 feet

2. Pietradolce’s Soil:
Mount Etna has wonderful volcanic soil, rather stony, light, sandy loam, with plentiful mineral elements from volcano, a generous gift from the volcano and which gives the wines special characteristics, and makes them with extraordinary richness, minerality, fragrance and depth.
Etna's rich volcanic soil also contains a high concentration of sand, a combination that has proved to be highly resistant to the phylloxera root pest that decimated other European vineyards in the late 1800's. Vineyards throughout Europe were wiped out for an extended period by the phylloxera root louse but Etna's vineyards with their volcanic, sandy soil were spared.

3. Pietradolce’s Altitude:
Such high-elevation vineyards present some unique problems for vintners. The steeply-sloped, terraced vineyards are difficult to navigate with mechanical equipment so most of the tending and harvesting of the vines has to be done by hand, a time-consuming and expensive proposition. That's reason why they production average are about 35000 bottles per year.

4. Burgundy of Italy:
The altitude is considerable that making wine for particularly fragrant and focused aromas due to wide diurnal range of 15 degrees at night up to 35 degrees in the day means that they get the slow, aromatic development without heat stress. Such temperature variations work to the benefit of grapes in that it not only facilitates berry growth and coloration but also promotes complexity in grape flavors. This is why Etna is called the ‘Burgundy’ of Italy.

Region/Country: Sicily, Italy

Rating: 92 Points by Robert Parker

Tasting Note: This is delicate but very deep with strawberries, spices and cedar. Full body, with a dense palate, beautiful fruit and a firm tannin structure. This is really corseted with beautiful acidity. Wonderful length. Turns to plums and cedar. Wonderful. A blend of grapes from two sites: one with 40 years of age and another with 80 years of age. Latter is pre-phyloxera. Drink now or hold.

2005年成立,酒莊位於義大利西西里島Ena火山的北側坡地上,短短的時間内國際聲譽扶搖直上。莊主因愛上Etna火山的葡萄園，2005年購買了相當老且產量極少的葡萄園。

令人驚嘆的是酒莊僅有11公頃的葡萄園不像多數酒莊位於Ena火山北面較平滑的火山岩上，而是位於背面地塊小又古老的斜坡上，這邊有著從未被接枝的NerelloMascalese灌樹老藤,從一個世紀前就雜亂的生長在由火山岩土讓的梯田上，莊主Faro以有機方式栽植，Fao說”我喜歡傳統的種植法,“沒有任何精心的編排”，Faro承認他所釀的酒遠不及這片葡萄園的潛力，於是在2016年開始施行引力自流法，以黑石和玻璃建造酒廠。

2007年第一個年份開始就分別以不同的老葡萄園裝瓶,並標上"pe-phylloxra(在根牙瘤蟲菌肆虐以前)意指百年以上的老藤，這裡的葡萄藤未曾因防止疫情而拔根嫁接在北美原生的葡萄根上。