2018 Nicosia Lenza di Munti Etna Rosso Sicily 750 ml

“Sicily is going through a Golden Age,” wrote Vinous. “Everyone wants a piece of Etna’s wild terroir.” 

This might just be the wine they had in mind when they wrote those lines. 

A bottle-aged Sicilian standout, the 2018 Nicosia Lenza di Munti seized 95 points at the 2021 Decanter World Wine Awards. Organically grown on a 2,300-foot-high vineyard on Mount Etna, it shows exactly why wines from the slopes of Europe’s oldest active volcano are such blazing hot commodities, prized by sommeliers coast to coast for their crushed-rock minerality and Burgundy-like lift and grace. 

Founded in 1898, Nicosia is a fifth-generation, family-owned winery that was producing beautiful Sicilian wines long before the Etna category became trendy.

Among the pioneering estates to set up shop on the lava-formed terraces of Mount Etna, they’re a big part of this southern Italian region’s success in recent years. That’s due in large part to Nicosia’s dedication to organic farming and respecting the nuances of the terroir they work with.

The 2018 Lenza di Munti cuvée is primarily Nerello Mascalese, Etna’s signature red grape, softened by a dollop of perfumed, richly hued Nerello Cappuccio, both grown in mineral-dense soils. Add in high-elevation mountain crispness and sun-warmed Mediterranean ripeness, and you’ve got one of the makings of one of the finest food wines on the market.

Nothing else in the world tastes like a great Etna Rosso. If we’ve got pistachio-crusted swordfish steaks sizzling on the grill, or olive-oil-slicked perciatelli tossed with sardines and capers in our Le Creuset, this sleek, stunning, high-elevation red is the first bottle we’ll be reaching for.