Massimo Lentsch – Etna, Sicily

Not every great wine project begins with inherited vines. Some begin with a volcano.

Massimo Lentsch is an entrepreneur and passionate wine lover who found his calling on volcanic soil. Already the owner of Tenuta di Castellaro on the island of Lipari — one of whose wines landed in Robert Parker's Top 100 Wine Discoveries 2020 — he turned his attention to Etna at the end of 2018, drawn by the unique power and complexity the mountain offers. He didn't arrive as an outsider looking to capitalise on a trend. He spent 15 years getting to know the land, the growers, and the people before making a single bottle.

The estate is situated on Etna's north face — the most prized side of the volcano — in the prestigious contrada Feudo di Mezzo, near Randazzo. The vineyards are trained in the traditional alberello system, with century-old ungrafted vines growing on layered lava soils at altitude. No herbicides, no chemicals, native yeasts only, no fining — organic and vegan protocols throughout. Consulting winemaker Emiliano Falsini brings decades of experience across Italy's finest estates to translate this extraordinary terroir into the glass.

The wines — Etna Rosso and Rosato from Nerello Mascalese, and a pure Carricante white — don't chase power or weight. They whisper rather than shout: fresh, precise, mineral, and built for both pleasure and age.

A personal project in every sense. Each bottle, as Lentsch puts it, carries his personality, character, and will.