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Massimo Lentsch, Etna Rosso (Sicily, Italy) “San Teodoro” 2019
Price: $38
Importer: Enotec Imports
The “Cosentino” and “San Teodoro” releases from Etna from Massimo Lentsch are very different in style from the 2019 vintage, providing two good options for those with different tastes and cellaring options. This bottling is the lighter of the two, with much less wood influence and more immediate charm. Based on my personal taste and the way I most enjoy wines from Etna, this is my favored wine of the two, though it is entirely possible that the Cosentino will surpass this as it absorbs its oak load and comes into its own with age. But we shall see about that, if I’m lucky; for now, this “San Teodoro” release is a sure thing, and a completely delicious thing at that. Lovely perfume and flavors centered on notes of pure red cherries are utterly alluring, and the wine’s purity and stylistic straightforwardness allow Etna’s volcanic soils to show in the form of mineral sapidity, with other little savory nuances also emerging around the edges. Lovers of big, ripe, New World wines - including types like California Pinot Noir that are supposed to be light but no longer are - would be well advised to look elsewhere. I sometimes knock a borderline wine down by a point to avoid disappointing wine lovers of that stripe because I worry my recommendation will prove disappointing to them, but not in this case. The wine is intricate and lovely in every respect already, and would grace any food pairing from veal scallops to an omelet with a dash of truffle salt.
Points: 94
Reviewed By: Michael Franz
Review Date: Aug 30, 2022
2019 Etna Rosso San Teodoro
Producer: Massimo Lentsch
Place of Origin: Italy, Sicily
Color: Red
Grape/Blend: Nerello Mascalese
Rating: 90
Drinking Window: 2024 - 2029
From: Surpassing Expectations: New Releases from Sicily (Sep 2023)
The 2019 Etna Rosso San Teodoro opens with a delicate blend of dried strawberries, roses and spice. This balances ripe wild berry fruits with saline minerals and zesty acidity to create an inviting yet tension-filled performance on the palate. The 2019 finishes tannic yet fresh, leaving sour cherry hints lingering.
By: Eric Guido on June 2023
Massimo Lentsch 2019 San Teodoro Nerello Mascalese (Etna)
From: Etna, Sicily and Sardinia, Italy
Rating: 90
Price: $38
Winery: Massimo Lentsch
Region: Sicily and Sardinia
Alcohol: 13.5%
Variety: Italian Red
Wine Type: Red
Bottle Size: 750 ml
Issue Date: 5/1/2023
The fun and funky nose on this Etna Rosso has a bit of raw meat and fresh tar backed up with strawberries and raspberries, followed by darker fruit notes of blackberries and black cherries. The palate is lively and juicy with fresh cherries, strawberries and notes of volcanic soil and crushed rocks pointed up by lightning hot acid.
Reviewed By: Danielle Callegari
Massimo Lentsch 2019 Etna Rosso San Teodoro
Price: $38
Rating: 90
Massimo Lentsch, who has been making wines on the Aeolian island of Lipari for nearly 20 years, started his Etna project in 2018. This Nerello Mascalese from Etna’s northern slope is fresh and lively, its raspberry and cranberry flavors tinged with notes of smoked almond and salty black olive.
(04/23)
Enotec, Denver, CO