2021 Fragore Etna Rosso Contrada Montelaguardia, Donnafugata

• Style: Pale ruby, fresh and mineral-driven
• Taste: Bright cherry, violet, spice, stone-ground earthiness
• Food: Roasted lamb, game, aged Pecorino, slow-cooked beef
• Occasion: Date night, gifting, cellar worthy
• Serve: Now or age 5–10 years; 14.5% ABV, bone dry

In the Glass — Tasting Notes

Pale ruby and luminous, this wine unfolds with fresh red-cherry and violet aromatics lifted straight from Etna's volcanic slopes. Cool mountain nights sharpen acidity while warm days build ripeness, creating balance rather than power. Spice, cocoa, and stone-ground earthiness follow the fruit, with gracefully woven tannins that seem to vanish on the palate. This is restraint and precision in a glass — a wine that drinks beautifully now yet possesses the structure to age another five to ten years with ease.

The Winery — Donnafugata

The Rallo family has stewarded Sicilian winemaking since 1851, launching the Donnafugata label in 1983 when few believed in the region's native varieties. Today the estate spans four locations across Sicily, including 18 hectares on Etna's terraced slopes where this wine is born. Nerello Mascalese thrives here through the traditional alberello bush method — vines kept low and stress-tested by the mountain's microclimate, a hardship that translates into precision and freshness. The 2021 vintage aged for a year in old oak barriques, then rested quietly in bottle for two years before release, allowing all components to marry into one coherent expression of Etna's character.

At Your Table — Food Pairing & Serving

Pair this confidently with roasted lamb, aged Pecorino, game birds, or the slow-cooked beef that benefits from wine with real acidity and restraint. At 14.5% alcohol and bone-dry, it demands serious food and serious drinking. This is Etna wine at its most compelling — a wine that sits proudly alongside our Sicily selection as one of the finest examples of the region's awakening. Whether you're marking a date night, seeking a gift for the cellar, or building a collection, Donnafugata's Fragore represents decades of family expertise applied to native terroirs. Explore our full Italy range to discover how producers continue to redefine what their landscapes can express.