Terra Costantino, Etna Rosso DOC (Sicily, Italy) 2018

Had enough Pinot with turkey for Thanksgiving?  This has all the grace of almost any Pinot costing twice as much, but will offer a much different flavor profile at the same level of delicacy that won’t overwhelm The Bird.  I loved the last vintage of this that I tasted, and love this one too, on account of its phenomenal gracefulness and gorgeous fruit.  The higher-end “Contrada Blandano” 2016 is the more “serious” and “impressive” of the two reds from this house, but this remains in the running with its stable mate on account of its exceptional purity and relatively uncomplicated deliciousness.  The lead notes are all about red fruit — red cherry and raspberry — but there are some nice emerging complexities of wild herbs in the bouquet as well as nicely measured mineral flavors that carry through to the finish, which is rounded and soft but still structured by super-fine tannins and the mineral residue.  The mouthfeel is so tender, rounded, and cushioned by ripe fruit flavors that it is easy to underestimate how structured the wine actually is, and by extension, how long it will likely improve and then hold.  I suspect it will improve for 5 years, but that few bottles will live long enough to prove me right or wrong — that’s how delicious this is right now.