2023 Sciara 1200 metri Grenache IGT Terre Siciliane Rosso

Stef Yim’s project on Mount Etna is as extreme as winemaking gets. A former sommelier from Los Angeles, Stef headed to Sicily to chase absurdly high-altitude plots that everyone else thought were too mental to farm. This cuvée comes from ancient, 70-plus-year-old bush vines perched at a staggering 1,200 metres up the northern slopes, planted directly into volcanic sand and ash.

At this altitude, Grenache looks entirely different to what you find down in the valleys. Stef lets it naturally ferment in amphora, keeping the extraction minimal and letting the mountain air do the talking. Sitting in clay for 19 months gives the wine space to find its balance without a single splinter of oak clouding the picture.

It drifts into the glass with a weightless, pale glow, completely ditching heavy alcohol for pure, electric tension. Think wild red plums, mountain cranberries, and crushed dried roses, bound together by a cold asphalt grit and a smoky, herbal kick.

A jaw-dropping look at the highest-altitude reds in Sicily.