Sicily’s varietal concentration
Measuring an island’s wealth in grape varieties, a journey through its winelands and tasting Sicilia en Primeur
by Michael Godel
Have you ever felt so at home or been so comfortable travelling as you have been in Sicily? If you’ve not been then you might not understand what I mean. Sicily is casa quantu stai e tirrinu quantu viri, “home for as long as you need to be and land as far as the eye can see.” I always assumed it would be the water to captivate me, but from endless seas of wheat to grapevines covering plains, hills and terraces, it would always be about the land.
You might also think this island in the southern Mediterranean would ripen grapes with the sort of ease akin to some of the world’s warmest climates, like South Australia or the Western Cape of South Africa. Oh that it were so simple. In Sicily they say, austu e riustu capu i mmennu, “after August, winter starts.” Growing grapes is truly a matter of place. You need to be specific with your grape varieties and match them to your micro-climate, but also your soils. This is a Sicilian necessity.
Inside the doorway there’s me, endlessly thinking and working. ~ The author at Tenuta Regaleali
A trip to Italy’s southern most wine region of a mere eight days is enough to be struck by the number of specificities Sicilian winemakers and producers have already figured out in order to make generational decisions. The success of any wine region depends on knowing where to denote qualitative probability so that it is possible to achieve the greatest results. This is the Burgundian model and yet Sicily’s vineyards are defined within a land of mono-estates, much like Tuscany in that its crus are single-owner farmed. This means that in order to qualify their best blocks and single-vineyards they must do so with ambition and ego. Unlike Tuscany the complication is much greater because they are not going at the exercise with just one grape. This might be looked at as a most difficult undertaking but if you own your problems and your decisions you can make it happen. In micro terms there are 23 DOCs and one DOCG. Go smaller and look at the hundreds upon hundreds of contrade, crus or small geographic areas defined in terms of soil types, including many layered volcanic lands. In macro terms this is also why the island has chosen to create an all encompassing category: Sicilia DOC. It is in fact the only DOC unanimously chosen to represent the region as a whole. In terms of size Sicily is equal to South Africa, Germany and three of New Zealand. Yes, it’s bigger than you would have thought.
In Palermo Maurizio Gily presented a study by Gabriella De Lorenzis in which she explains that around the IX-VIII century BC, the cultivated vine was introduced by the Greeks, in Southern Italy and in Sicily. Comparing the genetic profiles of Sicilian varieties with those from other wine-growing areas of the Mediterranean area, these are strictly connected with the vines of Southern Italy (Calabria, Campania, Basilicata and Puglia) and Greece. The numerous reports reveal how this area, historically known as Magna Graecia and defined as the Acclimatization Triangle for the varieties introduced by the Greeks, show a certain homogeneity under the genetic point of view. Wine is an ancient Sicilian prospect. A study conducted by Davide Tanasi, Enrico Greco, Donatella Capitani and Domenica Gullì looks at fragments of jars dating back to the Copper Age in the third millennium BC found in some caves on the Kronio mount at Sciacca. The study has allowed to put in light some components of the diet of the ancient population living there. Traces of cooked pig meat and of tartaric acid, proline and syringic acid have been found among the various remains. The last ones prove the presence of wine in the diet. The discovery dates back about two thousand years in the history of wine in the Mediterranean basin, whose production would be, therefore, much earlier than the colonization of Phoenicians and Greeks. Fast forward two thousand years and only recently wheat farmers were paid in wine, for sustenance and in the absence of currency.
Antonio Sparacio notes that Sicily has an extraordinary viticulture biodiversity, which is expressed in a large number of grape varieties. IRVO is committed to the recovery, conservation and valourization of ancient Sicilian varieties of Sicilian grapes. The implantation of a experimental vineyard in the locality of Verbumcaudo, on a land confiscated from the mafia in the municipality of Polizzi Generosa (PA) is where more than 30 varieties of ancient grapevines collected by the Regional Agricultural Department are planted. At Castellare di Castellina’s Nescemi outpost of Feudo di Pisciotto on the plain of Gela it is oenologist Marco Parisi who talks of their location six kilometres from the sea but even more about the specific micro-climate. He tells of a project called reliquendo, an investigative and experimental vineyard where they study 13 indigenous varieties nicknamed “relics” because they are cultivars that are no longer used. They continue to study these varieties just to check if some of them have the potential to become or return to be a variety good for wine production. The mixed plantings of red and white are then treated with micro-vinificatons. Parisi is also focused on nero d’avola. When he waxes about the island’s most important grape variety he refers to it as having a typical smell of straccio bagnato, the “air of wet cloth.”
Feudo Principi Di Butera winemaker Antonio Paolo Froio
At Feudo Principi Di Butera winemaker Antonio Paolo Froio points out the mix of conditions just within the estate’s lands, eight kilometres from the sea and even greater, the importance of mountain influences. The variability of the calcareous soil provides very different results in (especially) nero d’avola. Three distinct parcels, Trapani in the west, the estate’s central plain and the “eastern theatre” are all planted to different clones. The west deals in fatter wines of lower acidities, the east in smaller, compact bunches and in the central plain, less compact bunches, bigger berries, high acidity and tannin. These revelations lead to correlations and being able to make desired blends in varietal wines. As a result Antonio’s wines are pre-emptive, planned with great foresight and always with a caution strike. They are focused, precise, clean, sophisticated, subtle and balanced.
At Baglio Del Cristo Di Campobello proprietor Carmello Bonetta delves deep into the highly specific and territorial chalky soils and a micro-climate of high day for night diurnal temperature fluctuations. The limestone/gypsum in this portion of Campobello di Licata is quartz-like though very fragmented and fragile and it is here where grillo, the child of zibibbo and cattarrato was born. Masseria del Feudo’s Carolina Cucurullo is a fourth generation farmer with two distinct vineyards in Caltasinetta and of the first producers to plant chardonnay, in 1991/1992.
Agronomist Davide Bacchiega, Tenuta Regaleali
You would have to search the island many times over to find an estate project with more research and experimentation behind it than that from Alberto Tasca of Tenuta Regaleali. There is no sea influence at Regaleali so higher diurnal temperature swings mean picking times are generally late September to late October. In Siciliy! Tasca tells us “you learn from the bees, to know if you are doing well.” And so the approach is sustainability, to measure impact, to grow regal varieties, use herbs and to create biodiversity in the vineyards. “Organic is too static,” says Tasca. “I prefer biodynamic. It’s more in touch with the land and the practices that associate with the land. Sustainability speaks the greatest to impact.” So he and agronomist Davide Bacchiega work with universities, learn about soil health, raise cover crops and sheep for ricotta. The focus on syrah takes place at Monreale because it’s too cool and wet around the estate at Regaleali. There is experimentation with perricone, alberello bush vines for nero d’avola and cattarrato. Rain is collected in man made lakes, for use in arid vintages and for cleaning tanks. Rosemary and bay laurel grow everywhere. Inzolia is grown in the Barbabietole vineyard and heritage vines are propagated by burying canes, waiting for budding, tying it down with an iron ring and then cutting a spur into the vines. This methodology and preservation helps to keeps the true nature and spirit of a wine like Rosso del Conte alive.
Melissa Muller and Fabio Sireci, Feudo Montoni
Which brings us to Feudo Montoni. Fabio Sireci’s secret world is found in the Contrada L’Homo Morto. This is the heart of Sicily, where provinces collide and in terms of elevation his estate is one of the highest (at 700m) and sits at the confluence of the winds, including the Sirocco that blows from North Africa. There is also 350 days of sunlight, something the surrounding wheat fields quite enjoy. But in Sireci’s vineyards there is no search for heat and alcohol, only freshness, high acidity, low pH and long life. Fabio says “we do not have a marketing plan, we have only what the grapes give to us.” His pre-phylloxera nero d’avola Vrucara vineyard houses 100-plus year-old alberello bush vines. Just as they do at Regaleali, at Feudi Montoni they make use of propagine, the method of replacing spaces where century vines have passed on, by burying an arm, allowing it to take root and then splitting it to become it’s own unfgrafted plant. It’s quite simple. You can’t graft onto vines so old. “Everything here is stopped in time.”
Feudo Montoni’s history goes back 1500 years with Roman records indicating that in the sixth century there was a notation of this field as being a place where specific biotypes of vines thrived. If Fabio could ever get past his inferiority complex perhaps he’d celebrate such knowledge. His vineyard is that special, 30 of 80 hectares planted are all his, il nanismo, “the dwarf estate.” Fabio and his partner Melissa Muller make 25 vinifications of the same grape, every year. Talk about experimentation and dedication to varietal understanding. “I love my land and we choose the best areas to bring my wines to the world,” he says with no complex whatsover. Whites (grillo, cattarrato and inzolia) are planted at the highest elevations, where the iron and the magnesium rule. The lower parts are sandy, from erosion, with the presence of fossils and shells from an ancient sea. There is also black soil, with humus, layered, stratified, above the argilo, clay and sand. This is where you find Vrucara. “It’s easy to make good wine, more or less” says Fabio, “but we need to transfer the soul of the vineyard into the wine. Please don’t take me for a crazy person.” No chance of that Fabio. What about nero d’avola? “It’s like a crazy horse,” he insists, “wild and crazy young, then slowly refines. It needs micro-oxygenation and producers shouldn’t look at it with the market in mind.” He finishes by asking “What is nero d’avola? Look at a map of Sicily,” is the answer.
After visits to Feudo di Pisciotto, Feudo Principi Di Butera, Baglio Del Cristo Di Campobello, Masseria del Feudo, Tenuta Regaleali and Feudo Montoni I travelled to take part in the Sicilia En Primeur events. In Palermo we listened intently to a panel discussing the current state of Sicily’s wine industry and its connection to Palermo. The presentations by Maurizio Gily, Mattia Filippi (Assovini Sicilia), Antonio Rallo (Sicila DOC), Planeta’s Alessio Planeta and Palermo Mayor Leoluca Orlando all looked to connect the island by the phrase stato stazione delle una perfetta, meaning the union is currently situated in a perfect state, working together for the common good.
More than 100 journalists representing a total of 22 countries took part in the recently concluded edition of Sicilia en Primeur, a preview of Sicilian wines organized by Assovini Sicilia. As Palermo is the Capital of Culture for 2018, the city’s Palazzo Riso, Museo d’Arte Contemporanea della Sicilia was chosen as the backdrop for the tastings, masterclasses and meetings with wine producers, confirming once again the increasing amount of attention that the island’s wine industry is attracting from all over the world. By the numbers 53 wineries participated in the event, 450 wines were presented for tasting in the wine producer halls (50 of which were en primeur tastings), 360 wines were presented in the tasting hall, 144 wines were on the wine list, 103 Magnums and five standing room only masterclasses.
Sicilia en Primeur Press Conference, Museo Riso, Palermo
Potential was also stressed by the mayor Orlando. In his speech he explained “this city, like the island’s wine industry, has managed to overcome its challenges and now, thanks to the commitment of many, it has become the Capital of Culture. In Palermo, we have witnessed a cultural change and the same applies to the world of wine: we know how to work together to use our Mediterranean origins to our best advantage. To draw an analogy between the experiences of Palermo and Sicilian wine, it is fair to say that we have managed to reconcile the roots and the wings of our existence. A metaphor indicating our respect for the past and commitment to the future.” The mayor summarized his message with three words about his city of Palermo. “Exciting, safe and inexpensive.”
The decision to allow producers and bottlers across the island to bottle under the appellative umbrella code of Sicilia DOC has led to a 124 per cent increase in the number of bottles produced compared to the first two months of 2017. “Just reward for quality and control,” says Antonio Rallo, Chairman of the Sicilia DOC consortium, also known as Consorzio di Tutela Vini Doc Sicilia. “This growth data is no surprise to us and confirms the level of interest companies are showing in the Sicilia DOC designation. An important element is that all of the Sicilian DOCs showed a pattern of growth in the first two months of 2018, confirming, as in the rest of Italy, that our aim is increasingly focused on a designation system capable of guaranteeing greater quality and controls throughout the entire supply chain, both in Italy and abroad.”
In the first two months of 2018, the amount of Sicilia DOC wines produced reached 10,388,364 bottles (0.75 l), equal to 77,912 hectolitres. In the same period in 2017, the companies produced 4,633,452 bottles, equal to 34,750 hectolitres. The growth estimates therefore lead us to expect that for the whole of 2018, the number of bottles produced will reach 60 million, compared to the 29.5 million produced the previous year. In addition, since the start of 2018, the number of companies bottling Sicilia DOC wines has already risen to 182 compared to the 147 recorded at the end of 2017.
Use of the Sicilia DOC designation has also had positive effects on the number of winegrowers and the amount of land cultivated for wine. For the 2016 harvest, the number of winegrowers recorded was 3,245, but that number rose to 7,293 for the 2017 harvest. The increase in the amount of square metres of land cultivated for wine has doubled: from 10,695 hectares registered in 2016, to 21,436 registered for the 2017 harvest.
Take nero d’avola and now grillo as great examples of how Sicily has wrapped their arms around native grape varieties to create market share. Both grillo and nero d’avola can only be sold under the Sicilia DOC label. Grillo’s achievement as a top 10 selling Italian white wine confirms the legitimacy of this decision and above all that consumers have greater confidence in a product that is protected and guaranteed. “We are very proud of the results obtained for our Sicilian Grillo wines, which further confirms the growth trend of the Sicilia DOC label,” remarked Rallo, “but in particular it highlights how safeguarding autochthonous vines can bring excellent results in terms of sales and induce greater confidence in a market that is increasingly aware of the importance of purchasing a traceable product. The adoption of monitoring and control activities highlights the value of our vine varieties and acknowledges the importance of a controlled and guaranteed supply chain.”
Sicila en Primeur, May 2018
My tastings through hundreds of wines across the island were indiscriminate and engaged no less than nine important grape varieties, plus the region’s most celebrated blend and only DOCG, Cerasuolo di Vittoria. The opportunities to taste happened during visits to the six aforementioned properties and the three-day intensive gathering in Palermo for Sicilia en Primeur. The four-part opportunity was split between Sommelier service, Masterclasses, walk around producer one-on-ones and a private morning hotel tasting from bottles generously offered by several producers and graciously collected by the JustSicily and Sopexa staff. The week’s wines included the whites; grillo, inzolia, carricante and cattarrato, plus the reds; nero d’avola, nerello mascalese, syrah, frappato and perricone. Most of the island’s table wines fall directly under the all-encompassing and smartly organized denomination of DOC Sicilia, with notable exceptions labeled as IGT Terre Siciliane. Deeper investigations took in the volcanic specialities of DOC Etna Bianco, Rosso and Rosato. Then there were wines from characteristic locations (and communes) such as Sclafani Bagni, Noto, Campbello di Licata, Milazzo, Niscemi, Cammarata, Mozia, Caltanissetta, Menfi, Butera, Acate and Vittoria. Here are 30 top examples tasted in May.
Tasting through the range of Planeta Winery with winemaker Patricia Tóth ~ Image (c) Pasquale Buffa
Inzolia and Grillo
Feudo Montoni Inzolia Dei Fornelli DOC Sicilia 2017 ($22.95)
“Inzolia sometimes is afraid of Inzolia,” says Fabio Sireci, “so it is so often mixed with chardonnay, because it’s considered too neutral.” In Montoni’s hands it has been a varietal wine for a few years now, learning from micro-vinifications, practicing, seeing what it needs. Here it comes with a combination of peach and citrus, saline without tasting at all of salt and so, what is this? It’s the sedimentary rock and the varietal soul. How else to explain the magic? “Come un lama,” like a blade, cutting through fruit that came bled from stone. Implosive impressionistic tang, thriving in the mouth. Terrific texture, like a laser. Drink 2018-2022. Tasted May 2018
Baglio Del Cristo Di Campobello Grillo DOC Sicilia Lalùci 2017
Lalùci in Sicilian dialect means “the lights” or in terms of financial crisis, carry on, stay the course, “keep the lights on.” As a solo artist (100 per cent) grillo carries a lemony freshness that gets lost in bianco (blends) and along with this citrus there too is a pith bitterness. Herbs are also in play, mainly thyme and a faint but deliciously subtle rosemary. What trumps the bianco is the seamless transition to palate weight, with a move to more tropical flavours, almost mango but certainly peach. A taste of 2009 shows can girl can age so stash one or two away for some early twenties fun. Drink 2018-2022. Tasted May 2018
Tasca D’Almerita Grillo Sicilia DOC Mozia 2016
This grape grows in particular among the salt flats of the Marsala Pond on the small island of Mozia, an environmental and archeological gem where the Phoenicians once passed through. There are 17 hectares of grillo di Mozia, with oenologist Giacomo Ansaldi at the fore, bush system (Alberello) planted vines on sandy soils and a pruning system with 10 buds on the cane to guarantee production but also to protect from wind, sun and heat. The grapes are sent over by boat to Regaleali for production. The grillo sees four months on the lees and while it was a challenging vintage with no rain from April to September, nature and the sea always bring temperature fluctuations. Excellent grillo here, sapid, rich and very mineral from vines deeply in search of trace elements. The marine influence in notable so this is like no other with a sémillon character but still with grillo fruit. Might develop some honey. Drink 2018-2022. Tasted May 2018
Nero d’Avola and Cerasuolo di Vittoria
Mazzei Zisola Noto Rosso Sicilia DOC 2016 ($19.95)
Tasted with Filippo Mazzei in Palermo, Noto Rosso is nero d’avola from the Cantina in Sicily owned and operated by the Castellina in Chianti estate that produces Fonterutoli. A stainless ferment is followed by 50 per cent aging in stainless and 50 in 2nd and 3rd passage oak barrels, It’s a perfectly rich and plummy nero with great red liquorice tang and a distinction to celebrate pure, honest commerce. Very nero, very Noto. Drink 2018-2021. Tasted May 2018
Feudo Principi Di Butera Nero D’avola DOC Sicilia 2016 ( $18.95)
Really complex perfume, jumping from the glass, fresh, vital, from large plantings that make up more than 50 per cent of the agriculture. It’s both dark red fruit expressive and also herbal, of fennel and then a territorial limestone impression running through the fruit. Quite chewy and expansive in the mouth, all a result of stainless fermentations followed by older, larger barrels, 30 and 50 hL. Gives a broad, soft, elasticized and stretched palate texture with no departure from varietal and place. Very focused, clean, modern interpretation with no excesses, attitude or conceit, nor ambition neither. Drink 2018-2021. Tasted May 2018 impress inc
Feudo Montoni Nero d’Avola DOC Sicilia Lagnusa 2016 ($22.95)
Lagnusa is a nickname though Fabio Sireci doesn’t clarify if its him, or perhaps his father, or a farmer on the property. These nero d’avola vines come from grafts taken off of the ancient Vrucara. Fabio’s “entry-level” nero is one of a younger, youthful maturity and a prune-cinnamon-salumi trilogy, with only a hint of wood, micro-oxidation by cement vats and ultimately fruit-earth-black sandy stone earth balance. Always the Cammarata comune in the Province of Agrigento Montoni sapidity, of grit, grip, strength and understanding. A double rainbow might just appear after a sip of this regional nero d’avola from the Montoni property. Drink 2019-2024. Tasted May 2018
Valle dell’Acate Nero d’Avola DOC Sicilia Il Moro Limited Edition 2014 ($34.95)
Il Moro is a child of a wholly antithetical vintage and this particular brooding Moor of a nero d’avola is actually the reductive one as compared to 2015. The vintage will clearly deliver more age ability as the fruit is locked in tight behind an iron, black soil curtain. Sun is a factor but there is more understated wealth and probably balance here, though it’s not nearly as gregarious and open as ’15, which is saying alot. The fruit seems richer and the violets are everywhere. Drink 2021-2029. Tasted May 2018
Azienda Agricola Cos Nero Di Lupo IGT Terre Siciliane 2016 ($36.95)
Nero di Lupo is the “black wolf,” a would be reference to the nero d’avola grape variety and specific to how it grows in this southern Sicilian clime. Perhaps a sheep in wolf’s clothing, “pecore in abiti da lupo,” there is this docile, domicile quality but with teeth and bite behind. Don’t poke this bear and don’t expect it to lay down, soften and play dead any time soon. It’s a tightly knit nero d’avola, spun with fine natural acidity and even finer tannin. The dark rooted, soil driven fruit is earthy but in a wholly sapid and structured way. Are there any other nero d’avola that taste like this? Methinks not. Drink 2019-2028. Tasted May 2018
Feudi Del Pisciotto Cerasuolo Di Vittoria DOCG Giambattista Valli 2016 ($36.95)
Giambattista Valli Cerasuolo di Vittoria is 60 per cent nero d’Avola and 40 frappato, in attest of 14 per cent alcohol, a terrific vintage and 10 months in barrique. Exceptionally aromatic, this is a perfume of great ambition as it almost smells like American oak but it’s only French, with creosote, vanilla, lavender and tarragon. Rich in mixed soil impart, from sand and clay. It’s a very deep impression, tasting like pomegranate concentrate, with plenty of acidity and fine, mild tannins. It’s so very purple, as in its phenolic fruit content and consistent, slow maturation. There was no speeding up of the polyphenolics from overly hot summer months. Made for whole cuts of beef, cooked rare and sliced, running bloody. Drink 2018-2021. Tasted May 2018
Terre Di Giurfo Cerasuolo Di Vittoria DOCG Maskarìa 2014
Maskarìa is a top quality vintage for the only Sicilian DOCG in a red that captures the union between nero d’avola and frappato. This dark soil driven Cerasuolo di Vittoria suggests more nero dominance but with fruit forward assistance from the lighter soil raised frappato. Really hits both the high tones and low baritone notes, one and then the other, for maximum effect. Once again it is high acidity, not unlike some Aragonese garnacha or Monferrato barbera that sings the loudest in the chorus. Big wine indeed. Drink 2019-2025. Tasted May 2018
Planeta DOC Noto Santa Cecilia 2015 ($54.99)
The first vintage was in the late 90s and the appellation eventually became DOC Noto, with the initial vintage of 2003 having been where it was fully done in Noto, but 2008 is the official DOC recognition. This is when both Noto and Sicilia are on the label for the DOC to be recognized as 100 per cent nero d’Avola. Comes by way of the white chalky soils of Noto and is deceptively rich, deeply rendered, of an incredible acidity, dark and viscous fruit. There is so much happening in violet florals and light. Did I mention the acidity, amazingly linear but waiting to circle and become ringing. Drink 2019-2025. Tasted May 2018
Feudo Montoni Nero d’Avola DOC Sicilia Vrucara 2014 ($58.00)
Vrucara is labeled by cru on the front label and only as varietal on the back because the place is the most important ingredient, so that the grape can be separated from not only the rest of the estate but also from the rest of Sicilia. Only this cru does this for nero d’Avola. Only Vrucara and its ungrafted pre-phylloxera, European 100 plus year-old wisdom knows the soul of place to transfer into wine. It is a wine that has already developed the acumen it will carry through life. Freshness and acidity are a right from birth and need six or seven years to not move into secondary life but to begin at all. Acidity is upward of 8.2 g/L of tA and it lifts not just fruit but soul. Vrucara is wild grass that lives under the vine, in the words of Fabio Sireci “not a wine to make but a wine to protect.” A wine that carries the torch, flag, signature and emblem of estate, varietal and island. There are 4500 bottles produced Drink 2019-2031. Tasted May 2018
Frappato and Perricone
Feudo Montoni Perricone DOC Sicilia 2016 ($22.95)
Perricone, also called pignatello, from the land of clay soils, where they make clay pots called pignatelli, here called guarnaccio, perhaps related to grenache. Deeper and darker though not necessarily richer with fruit that thinks in terms of red and black currants. The grape is transparent despite its hue and there is a kinship with cabernet franc but again a reminder of grenache. Strong skin, big grape, with green seeds and 10 per cent green skin. Disease resistant but when it ferments the greenness can give bitter tannin. So Fabio Sireci was the first to mitigate this by waiting for the seeds to turn brown. It’s picked in November when the seeds taste like hazelnuts. It actually reminds of Kekfrankos in a way, with this depth and savoury smoulder. Kept in the cellar for a few days to brown in vintages of too much rain. These techniques are essential to deliver it as the soft, round wine it is. Will turn to chocolate and liquorice even though there was only cement involved in its elévage. The drying of stems before fermentation is almost appassimento in a way, albeit for just a few days or so. So interesting. A wine of very low (3.15) pH and high (7) tA. This and the rest of Montoni’s wines are two of Sicily’s greatest kept secrets. Drink 2018-2022. Tasted May 2018
Valle dell’Acate Frappato DOC Sicilia Il Frappato 2017 ($32.95)
I was first introduced to Valle dell’Acate’s frappato a few years back by Francesco Ferreri and at the time noted its off the beaten path uniqueness. The roots from this 100 per cent frappato go back at least six generations to pre-Phylloxera times. All organic and replanted using massal selection, the Vittoria is one of only five in the region. It hails from the Contrada of Bidini and just a kiss of barrel time (up to three months) determines a fresh and spirited frappato that smells like roses in early morning bloom. There is a quick to the point peppery kick to pique interest and to prepare the palate for a traditional and classic Sicilian meal. Drink 2018-2020. Tasted May 2018
Azienda Agricola Cos Frappato IGT Terre Siciliane 2015 ($36.95)
The Cos Frappato is in many ways the poster child, the entry point and portal into the singular oeuvre created by Giambattista Cilia e Giusto Occhipinti. Perhaps it’s because it parlays as the one wine straddling two worlds, the natural (sic) and the conventional, but also because it’s unadorned beauty is something everyone can appreciate. You may not need Chopin, Gaugin or Rodin for this frappato but you do need calm, time and no distraction. This open-minded and wide-eyed red is full of fruit both scraped of skin and sliced open in an outdoor market. It’s not so defined as to what those fruits may be so make some up, if you will. The purity of varietal from vineyards in Vittoria is delivered, without complaint or denial, just an expression of the extreme southern point of Sicily in north African violet aromatics and light. Lovely finesse yet quite magnified and concentrated. Drink 2018-2022. Tasted May 2018
Tenuta Regaleali Perricone Sicilia DOC Tasca D’almerita Guarnaccio 2016
Endemic perricone is the grape that has always existed at Regaleali, since 1954, in the historical San Lucio vineyard. The massal selection allowed for extending the vineyard, because believing in perricone (always known as Guarnaccio at the Estate) means respecting the winemaking past of western Sicily, which was rich in this grape. Because brother Rosso del Conte was always offering an age able wine, it was decided to bottle this varietal wine for freshness and possibility. It sees 12 months in 2nd and 3rd use barrique. The first vintage was 2012 and there is a sweet nuttiness about this grape made in this way, like marzipan or nougat, with currant red fruit and in a way, like cabernet franc but without any pyrazine intrusion. A note of carob or bokser joins in, advantageous acidity for buoyancy and a calmness without any real demand by tannin. So much pleasure and confidence. Too early in its tenure to know about aging solo but how can confidence not speak to an avowal of yes? Drink 2019-2026. Tasted May 2018
Syrah
Feudo Principi Di Butera Syrah DOC Sicilia 2016 ($19.55)
An international variety perhaps and/or as old as Sicilian grape growing in Syracusa. Either way it’s well adapted to Sicilian soils, particularly here with plenty of calcari, maturing early at the end of August or latest early September. It must be managed for acidity, so expositions are very important. This is very rich but it has maintained its energy with a pulse that moves with the bigger bodied fruit. The freshness comes form east and west vineyard positions, balancing the north-south densities. There is a slightly dusty plum note but spice bookends the fruit, with some bitter amara notes at the end. Drink 2018-2020. Tasted May 2018
Masseria del Feudo Syrah DOC Sicilia 2017
From estate vineyards in Caltasinetta picked early in the third week of August. Raised by a wild ferment and the use of concrete vats. More freshness and bright fruit as compared to the nero d’avola and so as a result, less bitters. There is sweetness in the mid-palate and a silky consistency. The bitters do come forth at the finish. The most expressive and floral wine in the portfolio, though still those bitters and pressed personality but in the form of syrah, it’s both characterful and meaty. Drink 2018-2021. Tasted May 2018
Mazzei Zisola IGP Terre Siciliane Achilles 2015
This is Mazzei’s first bottling of syrah and before it was added to the Noto (Doppiozetta). Like the nero d’avola the syrah vines were also planted in 2004 and 2005 (though some additional nero was planted in 2007). Syrah was put in to experiment and for blending, even though they knew it was nero d’avola territory, but the syrah has impressed the most. This is big, meaty, structured syrah with classic Mazzei bones and acidity but simply Sicilan tannin. Kind of the sort to take your breath away, tangy, high in deep red citrus and chewy. Really chewy. For all the talk of syrah across the island this is one to say “you’re on it something” but with an undertone of “we’ve always known this unspoken truth.” Drink 2020-2026. Tasted May 2018
Carricante and Etna Bianco
Tornatore Etna Bianco DOC 2017 ($23.95)
Tasted with the estate’s Domenico D’Antoni, the Bianco is 100 per cemt carricante, on very little soil above the volcano’s basalt at 500-6500m. There are 25 hectares of bianco, 24 oh which is carricante that shivers with this fresh, salty nasal inhalation, still so youthful and needs a little time away. The most important thing is that you respect and understand the simplicity of this noble but basic grape. No malo, high potassium and volcanic soil so the acidity is naturally preserved. Young vines with great room for improvement at 5-5.5 g/L acidity. Find a better value in Etna Bianco, I dare you. Drink 2018-2021. Tasted May 2018
Torre Mora Etna Bianco DOC Scalunera 2017
orre Mora is the Etna outpost of Tuscany’s Piccini, owners of Villa al Cortile in Montalcino and Valiano in Chianti Classico. Scalunera is the Contrada on the northeastern edge of the volcano and the Torre Mora (and Benanti) vineyard sites at 650-670m are the first just off the lava flow, planted to Albarello bush vines. Salty, of course, but quite ripe, full of fleshy fruit. It’s a body phenolic unexpected and quite the mouthful of Etna Bianco. A broad expression that gives it all. Drink 2018-2021. Tasted February 2018
Terra Costantino Etna Bianco DOC Deaetna 2014 ($33.99)
Terra Costantino’s is from Contrada Blandano in the Comune Viagrande, on soils “sabbie di matrice vulcanica,” a blend of carricante and catrarratto, three to one, at 500m, part bush vine and part spurred cordon. Intense aromatics for the two-varietal blend, with great concentration, so much sunlight and while lower in altitude, the palate softness is matched by great presence and high tonality to balance the opulence. Only 1900 bottles produced and though anything but a laser-focused Etna Bianco it speaks of place and opens awareness to the world. Perhaps acts a bit older than you would expect but it’s a terrific entry without too much linearity. Drink 2018-2021. Tasted May 2018
Tenuta Di Fessina DOC Etna Bianco A’Puddara 2015
A’Puddara is from Silvia Maestrelli out of Contrada Manzudda a Biancavilla, on “scisto sabbioso e fine, presenza di pomice e lapilli,” i.e. sandy and fine schist, pumice and lava. This 100 per cent carricante is farmed on Alberello (bush vines) at 900m. Starts an Etna tasting with a schisty fullness, tart and a minor oxidative accent, with plenty of acidity. It’s properly salty and mineral pushed. Very correct for varietal and place with lemon all over the place. Drink 2018-2021. Tasted May 2018
Planeta Eruzione 1614 Carricante 2016 ($42.99)
Passion projects are not for the faint of heart but they are perhaps reserved for winemakers too smart and too worthy for their own good. Eruzione is such an animal for Planeta’s winemaker Patricia Tóth, a varietal carricante ode (with 10 per cent riesling) to the great and tragic 1614 Etna eruption. If boys don’t cry I still shed a tear or two for history and for my love of this wine. It comes from the black volcanic soil of the Contrada Sciaranuova vineyard, next up the mountain from Contrada Santo Spirito. In ’16 it’s not measured by a low ’14-like pH, not quite as sharp, so therefore fuller and with more unction. It’s still an Etna-bled eruptive white, still beating raw by laser focus out of inspirational terroir. Readier too because it’s been held back a few more months for release. This wine will let you arrive at where you want to be. So many whites are mired in repeatable refrains. “Plastic passion is a Hyacinthe heart. Plastic passion is a transparent tart…Plastic passion is a gold guarantee. The plastic passion is murdering me.” Eruzione is life affirming and though other wines may pay the bills, this cariccante is the cure. Fill your prescription and drink up its passion. It’s the winemaker’s too. Drink 2018-2024. Tasted May 2018
Nerello Mascalese and Etna Rosso
Barone Di Villagrande Etna Rosso DOC Contrada Villagrande 2016
The self-effacing Contrada is at 700m with a southeast exposure, warmer and mildly humid. This is Etna in purport of what it really is, a Rosso derived off of a volcano, with wild flowers, sweet balsamico drizzled red fruit and this blanched almond or chestnut nuttiness from you guessed it, chestnut barrels. This is using your terroir and what grows, coming from estate trees to mesh naturally with the nerello mascalese (including 20 per cent cappuccio and mantellato) grown here. The aging renders the baby fat and leads this through a portal into dried wild strawberry, white caramel and a slightly smoky beat. There is real texture here to celebrate the singularity of a contrada Rosso. Drink 2020-2027. Tasted May 2018
Pietradolce Etna Rosso DOC Solicchiata 2017 ($25.95)
The Etna “normale” is one of the DOCs great umami entries into the mountain’s northern portal slope, taken from vines growing at 600m in Solicchiata, Bush (alberello) and espalier training on stony, light sandy loam soils produce this lithe version of the estate style. It’s slightly piqued and spicy, unencumbered and unadulterated. The dry, dusty, sun-soaked and rainless season is to me perfect for this entry-level Pietradolce, even if it turns out to be a challenge for the crus of certain Contrade. This wine does not always give away this much concentration and red berry fruit as it does in 2017. It’s warm but also lined by a cool, stony streak. Not sure the structure from 2017 is as strong as ’16 and I’d rather drink this in 2018 and 2019. This sample is labeled “Campione di Vasca,” not yet bottled but it is a finished wine. Drink 2018-2021. Tasted May 2018
Vivera Etna Rosso DOC Martinella 2012
Vivera’s Martinella is mostly nerello mascalese (90 per cent) with nerello cappuccio from vineyards at 550-600m. Contrada Martinella’s soil is volcanic, “ricco di scheletro a reazione subcaida, profondità 250 metri.” Deep, brooding red fruit and still a touch reductive despite its age, from Irene Vaccaro, hers is a really structured wine with liquorice and tobacco, plums and a chocolate note, as by wood still working its way through the fruit and the vulcanico. Firm, complex and grippy. Very territorial Etna Rosso with spicy bite. Drink 2019-2024. Tasted May 2018
Planeta Eruzione 1614 Nerello Mascalese Sicilia DOC 2016 ($42.99)
Like the yellow lorry carricante thriller it is Etna Rosso incarnate that is portrayed in this Eruzione red lorry nerello mascalese (with nine per cent nerello cappuccio) from up the mountain’s 890m vineyards of (Contrada) Sciaranuova, but with some fruit from lower altitude at 600m. The vine age is part 2008 and part 20 year-old vines and a small section going back 90 years but just a small spot. The higher you climb for nerello macalese the more finesse you acquire. This Eruzione is swimming through lava with it, smoothed by plenty of silky texture, raspberry and chalky liquid tannin. Nerello, “you ain’t nothing but a true embrace. You ain’t nothing but a hidden face.” Your Planeta edition gets neither more refined, elegant nor focused. You’ve been descried as the “alternative classic” or the new light pinot noir. Maybe frappato, but not you, nerello mascalese. Let’s leave you out of the discussion. Leave you alone. Talk about the weather. Drink 2019-2025. Tasted May 2018
Pietradolce Etna Rosso DOC Barbagalli 2015
The estate flagship Etna Rosso Barbagalli is taken from Contrada Rampante in the area that is known as “Barbagalli” in Solicchiata. This northern Etna 80 to 100 year-old pre-phylloxera vineyard delivers the most naturally earth-crusted, umami-laden expression in hyperbole, concentration and peak spiciness. There is a buzz about this nerello mascalese that the rest of the portfolio does not pulse with, neither outward through expressionistic energy nor inward, retracted and self-effacing by implosive feeling. The texture separates itself with multi-faceted tenor and a tremor of explosive potential that might strike at any time, anywhere, any place. This will turn into something ethereal, of that there can be little doubt. Drink 2022-2032. Tasted May 2018
Cottanera Etna Rosso DOC Dicittassetesalme 2016
Dicittassetesalme could be translated as “seventeen corpses” but in this case it’s an ancient way of measuring a Sicilian vineyard. One “salme” essentially equals just over 17,000 square metres, or one and a half hectares, more or less. The Dicittassetesalme is nererello mascalese on lavico-argiloso soils, a mix of basalt, limestone and clay. It is structured for the long haul and filled to overflowing with intensities to distract, occupy and take over your senses. It’s a brooding affair while this young, standing firm and strong, raising the hairs on the back of the neck and in demand of full command attention. The future is wide open. Drink 2021-2030. Tasted May 2018
Thanks for reading. Until the next report…
godello