Monteleone 2020 Etna Rosso Rumex 750mL

Giulia Monteleone doesn't know how old this vineyard is. But it's more than a century. On it's original rootstock, it's a survivor of phylloxera which sees most of Europe's vines now on phylloxera resistant American rootstock. So if you don't know when a vineyard was planted, how can you date it at all? Well, we know that it survived the eruption of Etna in 1911; it's now surrounded by cooled lava flows that mercifully split and travelled down each side of it. So let's say it's at least 114 years old (in 2025).

The name Rumex comes from the flower on the label, which, along with the namesake of Monteleone's top Bianco, Anthemis, is the first plant to bring life to the soil after a lava flow.

The wine is a brooding mass of tension and complexity. The minerality leans toward graphite with crisp red berries, cherries and black olives. With 5 years of age, it's an exceptional wine, with the oak nicely integrated allowing floral and spice notes to emerge from what was a much tighter wine on release. But you will still be richly rewarded as it ages over coming decades. Given the pedigree of these grapes, you should stow at least a few bottles away.

Harvested by hand in the early morning to maximise freshness of the fruit. Ageing is in French oak tonneaux for 16 months, followed by 2 months in concrete, and a final 6 months in bottle before release.

Open it with a special meal and a red meat hero.