With emphasis on Etna, and nero d'avola pretty much forbidden. Single blind.
2013 Cottanera Sicilia Barbazzale Bianco
Tim's. Fresh pineapple, mineral, rich and attractive. Great summer sipper.
2014 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Bianco Etna DOC White Blend
Warm nose of ripe fruit, though finished in a drier style, with smokey-ashy tones. Complex, made of five grapes from 25-60 year old vines. Finish just a bit hot, '14 must have been a warm vintage.
2009 Passopisciaro Sicilia Passopisciaro Nerello Mascalese
Mine. Poor recent CT notes made me nervous about this bottle, but it was in fact outstanding. Both nebbiolo-ish and Burgundian, vivid flavors, long finish. Drinks perfectly on opening, and further cellaring should yield even more benefits.
2012 Feudi del Pisciotto Frappato Carolina Marengo
Gabe's. Wow, what a nose. Briary, zinnish, animale funk, big mulberry-raspberry fruit on the palate, pine note on the finish. International, not old world, in spite of the funk (which dissipated over the next hour). Polarizing. "Bizarre", "male sweat" and "gym socks". A very mild spritz made us wonder if compromised. In all, more didn't like it than did. Wouldn't buy it, but I had fun tasting it.
2010 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso Santo Spirito Etna DOC Nerello Mascalese
Mine. Coconut, bayberry and crayola, spice comes along, raw walnut tannins on the finish. Deeo and bright berry-cherry color with hints of orange indicating a few years of bottle age, pinot-esque body; excellent now but will reward further cellaring.
2013 Di Giovania Terre Siciliane Nerello Mascalese
Chelsea's. Elegant nose, complex on the palate with bing cherry fruit, coriander spice, and earthy tannins. Great presence, and very cab-franc like. Everyone loved it, one of the big hits of the tasting.
2010 Girolamo Russo Etna San Lorenzo Etna DOC Nerello Blend
Hugely oxidized.
2014 Forge Cellars Pinot Noir Seneca Lake
Gotta love Vic for sneaking a ringer like this into a Mt. Etna tasting--too bad the wine itself wasn't more worthy. Roasted vegetables and celery/tuna salad on the nose. Reductive.
2011 Azienda Vinicola Biscaris Frappato
Mildly oxidative nose; on the palate, not much 'there' there.
2013 Baglio del Cristo di Campobello Sicilia C'D'C' Rosso
Mark's. Blind. The nose was strangely familiar in a way we couldn't place, as was the bland palate with prominent toasted oak. Certainly didn't taste Sicilian after the previous eight wines. Ah no wonder: it's syrah, cab sauv and merlot join the nerello mascalese. Not impressed--these are flavors we drink Sicilian wine to get away from.
1996 Paolo Scavino Barolo Bric dël Fiasc Nebbiolo
Mine (to end the evening with though not Sicilian, as someone in the group had a VERY rough day). Other recent CT reports of reticence and Burgundian characteristics were not in this bottle. Rather, this wine was very ready; roses on the nose, thick and meaty on the palate. Only needed about 30 minutes in the glass to show a perfectly aged modern Barolo. Bliss.