Scammacca del Murgo, Etna Rosso

I remember clearly when I first arrived at Murgo, high on the eastern slopes of Mount Etna. The drive up cuts through vineyards planted in black lava rock — real lava, stacked into old stone terraces. It doesn’t feel like anywhere else in Italy. That night, everything was quiet except for a faint hum in the distance. I later learned that hum was Etna itself — small, constant tremors you barely notice unless you’re paying attention.

Standing on the balcony with a glass of the estate’s red in hand, I watched a faint glow at the summit, a thin ribbon of smoke drifting into the stars. Every so often there was a gentle rumble — nothing dramatic, just enough to remind you the mountain is alive. It wasn’t scary. It was grounding. You realize quickly: the vines here aren’t growing on metaphor. They’re rooted in a living, breathing volcano.

Murgo’s Etna Rosso, drawn from vines rooted deep in these black volcanic slopes, is a pure expression of the mountain — nervy, mineral, quietly powerful — and year after year it stands as one of the most compelling values coming off Etna.

Mount Etna rises in the northeastern corner of Sicily, just north of Catania and west of the Strait of Messina. Europe’s tallest and most active volcano, it has shaped this landscape for millennia. The slopes are layered with hardened lava flows, fractured basalt, and fine volcanic ash from countless eruptions. Vineyards climb from roughly 500 to over 1,000 meters in elevation, many carved into narrow stone terraces that cling to the mountain’s pitch. Warm Mediterranean sun by day and cool nights after sunset preserve freshness and tension in the fruit. The porous volcanic soils force the vines to dig deep, and you taste that depth in the glass.

The Murgo estate traces its roots back to the 19th century, when vineyards were first documented on the property in the 1860s under the Scammacca family. But the modern winery was formally established in 1981, when Baron Emanuele Scammacca del Murgo returned to his ancestral land after a diplomatic career and committed to building a serious estate focused on Etna’s native grapes. The first Etna Rosso was bottled in 1982 — long before Etna became a headline region. In the decades that followed, Murgo expanded its holdings across prime eastern-slope sites, farming approximately 30 hectares of vineyards at elevation. The estate remains fully family-run today, with the next generation involved in both vineyard management and cellar work, preserving a continuity of vision that stretches back over a century.

From the beginning, Murgo focused on expressing Etna rather than reshaping it. The vineyards are farmed sustainably across volcanic parcels rich in basalt and ash. Yields are controlled. Harvest is by hand. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel to preserve aromatic clarity, and aging is done largely in neutral oak or tank to maintain transparency. The intent isn’t weight — it’s articulation. Let the mountain speak without interference.

The 2023 Etna Rosso is built primarily from Nerello Mascalese, with a small portion of Nerello Cappuccio as permitted in the appellation. Nerello Mascalese is thin-skinned and late-ripening, capable of remarkable nuance. It offers the aromatic lift people sometimes compare to Pinot Noir, but with more structure and a savory grip that nods toward Nebbiolo. On Etna’s volcanic soils, it becomes something distinct: lifted, smoky, mineral, and precise.

In the glass, the wine shows a translucent ruby hue. Aromas of wild strawberry, tart cherry, and blood orange peel lead into dried rose, crushed herbs, and a subtle smoky note that reflects the ash-rich soils. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied with lively acidity and fine, sandy tannins that provide structure without heaviness. There’s a quiet iron-tinged minerality beneath the fruit and a lifted, stony finish that lingers.

This is a wine made for the table. Pair it with pasta alla Norma, grilled lamb with oregano and lemon, swordfish over charcoal, arancini, caponata, olives, and aged pecorino. It thrives alongside real Sicilian food — simple, direct, and built on balance.

Etna isn’t a trend. It’s a force of nature. And this bottle captures that energy with authenticity and precision — at a price that remains one of the smartest buys on the mountain.