2016 Cusumano Alta Mora Etna Rosso Guardiola

"Alta Mora reveals its high-value cards with this wine. The 2016 Etna Rosso Guardiola is a carefully manicured wine from an excellent growing site and a classic vintage. It has benefited from long bottle age (following 18 months in large oak casks), and that extra time in glass has proven fundamental for the balance and fruit integrity displayed here. It shows dried cherry and redcurrant with dusty tannins and lasting notes of campfire ash. The mouthfeel ends on a dry note. Ultimately, the palate feels more mature than the bouquet does. Alta Mora farms three hectares in Contrada Guardiola with ancient alberello (or bush-trained) pre-phylloxera vines. Production is limited to 4,000 bottles. Drink Date: 2023 - 2035" - Monica Larner Review Date: June 2023

"Smoked meat, volcanic ash, licorice and wild cherries. It's medium-bodied with fine, silky tannins. Delightfully mineral with spice, dried herbs and berries on the palate. Leather and dust on the finish. Slightly austere, but solid. Drink or hold." Review Date: November 2020

"Aromas of fragrant purple flower, underbrush, Mediterranean scrub and fragrant spice shape the nose. Focused and elegantly structured, the vibrant palate features ripe black cherry, raspberry, licorice and a hint of saline alongside tightly wound, fine-grained tannins that grip the close. Drink 2022-2028." - Kerin O'Keefe Review Date: November 2020

"An appealing note of ripe black raspberry is pure and lightly juicy, leading the way in this grippy, mineral-driven red. It's layered with accents of licorice snap, sage, orange peel and a smoky tang of hot iron. Quite elegant through the the finish, where the dense tannins hold sway for now, recommending short-term cellaring or decanting. Best from 2023 through 2028. 225 cases made, 50 cases imported." - Alison Napjus Review Date: January 2021