Benanti Etna Rosso Cru Rovittello

The Benanti winery was founded in 1988 by Giuseppe Benanti, a pharmaceutical entrepreneur from Catania who decided to turn his family’s long standing traditional passion into an ambitious and challenging new venture. Wine had been produced by the family for several generations, mostly for private consumption, until Giuseppe finally decided to establish the winery  with the aim of preserving the unique terroir of Etna’s volcanic slopes whilst cherishing and developing the indigenous Etnean varieties.

The 80 year old vineyards of Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio which produce this wine are located in the Comune of Castiglione di Sicilia on the Northen slopes of Etna at about 700 metres above sea level. The grapes are late ripening and harvested at the end of October with long maceration of the must with skin contact of 20-25 days in steel tanks. After malolactic fermentation, the wine is left to mature in 225 litre barriques for at least one year, before further bottle refinement of 8-10 months.

Red ruby in colour with garnet reflections, the Rovittello is a beautifully harmonic red. It has a slightly ethereal and delicate aroma profile where the wealth of red fruits give way to a complexity of vanilla, chestnuts, cloves and warm spices. The finish is remarkably long and the tannins and balancing acidity indicate a clear benefit to leaving the wine to age for another 5 years.