Description
Agricola Sofia, Etna Rosso “Gioacchino”
We’ve done our fair share of direct importing over the years and have some incredible gems to show for it, but my fortuitous encounter with Agricola Sofia raised the stakes to an unprecedented level: Their small-batch Etna Rosso is liquid treasure, and we’re thrilled to introduce you to their even-more-spectacular sophomore release. If you missed the wild story the first time around, here it is again…
In early 2018, I was in Barolo with my family and the forecast was showing heavy rain, so I packed up the rental car and started driving south. Over the next few days, we cruised down the Mediterranean Coast before loading up on a ferry and landing on the fabled island of Sicily. There, we met with some legends (Benanti, Romeo del Catello, Graci, Murgo), all of whom implored us to visit a covert hotspot for winemakers on the north side of Mount Etna. We went and discovered a rustic trattoria with a walk-in cellar that seemingly held every cult label in the world. Places like this are where you discover the best local insider information, so I struck up a conversation with the sommelier and asked about up-and-coming producers. He lit up and said there was one: Carmelo Sofia, whose first “publicly available” vintage was still in barrel. Seeing my intrigue, the sommelier made a quick call to see if they could swing by, and, less than ten minutes later, Carmelo’s sister and wife walked through the door with a handful of fresh barrel samples. They were indescribably delicious. The next day, we visited the vineyard with the entire family, drank some wine, and struck up a special deal. Having now imported two vintages, we can confidently say that (1) this is Nerello Mascalese at its most perfumed and authentic, and (2) when it comes to ultra-serious Etna Rosso—a category that competes with the world’s finest reds—you won’t find a better value.
“Gioacchino” is named after Carmelo’s father, who grew up in a farming household and spent the majority of his years in vineyards clinging to the slopes of the Etna volcano. He inherited his first acre of vines in 1980 and, inch by inch, built up his holdings to seven acres. Throughout this time, grapes were sold to local producers or vinified and exclusively distributed to locals. It wasn’t until 2017 that Carmelo decided to declare the official inaugural vintage for Agricola Sofia. Today’s offering marks his second release and, my goodness, it’s remarkable how much intelligence and profundity these wines already hold.
Still scattered with abandoned vineyards and lava flows, the classic Etna image is one of gnarled, old, bush-trained vines known as alberelli (‘little trees’). Vineyard altitudes on the volcano reach up to 1,000 meters, making it some of the highest-elevation viticulture in Europe and the only “cool” region of Sicily, which otherwise has more in common with North Africa than much of mainland Italy when it comes to climate.
On Sicily’s Mount Etna, contrada is the local word for “cru” and today’s “Gioacchino” is sourced from two volcanic parcels within contrada Piano dei Daini and one clay-dominant parcel in contrada Pietramarina, both of which lie on the northern slope. All three sites are perched around 600-700 meters. Carmelo and his father farm organically in the vineyard and their small crop of Nerello Mascalese is harvested by hand. For today’s 2018 Etna Rosso, a spontaneous fermentation without temperature regulation occurred in concrete tanks. After a 15-day maceration, the resulting wine then matured in these same vessels for an additional 12 months. Only 500 cases were produced.
Like its home region, the Nerello Mascalese variety has catapulted to international fame. By law, it represents a minimum of 80% of any wine carrying the Etna Rosso DOC, but Sofia focuses entirely on Mascalese, making it an intense, perfumed, and wholeheartedly pure Sicilian red. Sofia’a 2018 “Gioacchino” reveals a dark ruby hue in a Burgundy stem and takes its sweet time adjusting to life outside of the bottle: I recommend a minimum 30-minute decant before consuming over 3-4 hours. With proper air, this spills out deep, intoxicating aromas of black cherry liqueur, brambleberries, blood orange, crushed black rock, wild plums, sage, dusty strawberries, cacao, candied violets, and hints of star anise. It’s medium-plus bodied and loaded with dark-fruited layers that are wrapped around a swirling mineral core of volcanic rock and mountain herbs. I know it’s only Carmelo’s second-ever official release but I have no problem going out on a limb and saying that these beauties will easily evolve for 5-8+ years. It truly is one of the greatest values in the sprawling world of $30-and-under wines. Cheers!
