Better to drink than pack, 42/60: Etna

Benanti rides the middleground of the old guard and the new guard in the wine region of Etna, the world’s most hotly contested and talked about slope. Benanti’s winemaking operation has been there a while, in contrast to that of newer faces — a motley crew ranging from 2001 arrivals like Belgians like Frank Cornelissen to the wine domination machine of Tuscany — but it’s also ripped up the Sicilian terraces of yesteryear to better industralize the viticulture.

At what expense? This Benanti Rosso di Verzella Etna 2010 may not be tea-leaves indicator, but it did show different qualities that may represent how good the wine is that Benanti makes while suggesting it could be much better (at least for a $25 entry-level bottle).

I had with pizza, and with, as illustrated below, black bean sauce pork tenderloin with rice cake and mixed vegetables. The food was assertive; the wine a bit tight. Reheating the pork made it far from rare, a necessity when pairing tannic wines as this was showing.

The first impression this cuvée makes is one of deep darkness. Both on the nose and the palate you get blackened berries—pungent and earthy. It’s strict fruit. But it also benefits from time in a decanter, as so many relatively young wines can do when they cost over $20.

These are only 40-year-old vineyards (after all, this is Benanti’s entry-level offering) and I’d imagine the older vineyards produce more interesting wines, and if not with more finesse than with more character. The Verzella plot grapes are vinified for all their chewy glory though, so some persistence when uncorking this bottle helps and eventually yields the nice strawberry-plus-mineral aspect that are said to project from the pumice that anchors so many of these high-altitude grapevines (in this case, it’s 700m). Pumice, which is volcanic rock formed as gases escape from rapidly cooling magma that leaves holes where air bubbles were, acts like neither soil nor stone. Unlike stonier plots, it can retain water without actually be considered a soil (which is an ecosystem unto itself).

The minerality of wine ruled more on the second night. The wine was more cohesive and shone more then, though pizza is not the perfect pairing either. Something more precisely seasoned would make a good foil to the wine as it opens up and shows its layers of unique volcanic minerals and alpine-like fruit.

Whether it’s a winemaker leader or follower, keep an eye on Etna.

13.5% alc/vol, $23.75