Top Sicilian Wines 2025
By John Szabo, MS
John Szabo’s Sicily En Primeur: Top Sicilian Wines 2025 & Decriminalizing a Product of Civilisation, Knowledge, Beauty and Tradition
I look forward each spring to the annual Sicily En Primeur event created by Assovini Sicilia, an opportunity to taste a wide selection of new releases and visit different corners of the Mediterranean’s largest island. 2025 marked the 21st edition and was hosted in the chocolate-scented baroque jewel of a town, Modica, in the southeastern part of Sicily.
Modica Alta, Sicily ©John Szabo MS
Jump to the Buyer’s Guide:
Etna Bianco
Other Sicilian White Varieties
Rosato
Etna Rosso
Other Sicilian Red Varieties
Sweet
Decriminalising Wine
Beyond the tastings and visits, the overarching theme of the event focused on the debate and importance of regarding wine culture as a form of responsible consumption, of connecting wine with wine tourism, and the role of sustainability in the wine sector. In the face of slumping wine consumption worldwide, and the demonization of all alcohol as uniformly evil without distinction, Assovini, and indeed hundreds of actors in the wine industry are seeking to flip the narrative and remind people of the profound cultural value of wine, not to mention it’s economic importance in numerous societies.
In her introductory keynote speech, Mariangela Cambria, president of Assovini Sicilia, emphasised that “today, faced with global challenges that see wine at the centre of a heated debate, it is essential to return to our roots to reflect on and respond to future challenges. The next challenge for Assovini Sicilia is not only to maintain the high quality of wine production and invest in sustainability, but also to protect cultural value against restrictive international dynamics, against a way of thinking that criminalises a product of civilisation, knowledge, beauty and tradition”.
Wine Tourism
It’s perhaps fitting that the island, which has witnessed winegrowing for at least 25 centuries, should be the origin a movement to reinforce the historical and cultural value of wine. And being also an island of exceptional beauty, agreeable climate, and boasting a rich and varied culinary tradition informed by multiple civilizations from Greeks to Arabs to Spanish and others, Sicily is a particularly nice place to visit. Wine tourism is growing on the island, driven by these factors as well as a generation of consumers particularly eager to experience wine culture in situ.
“Besides being an agricultural product” explains Cambria, “wine is an essential element of universal culture that spans centuries and civilisations. The culture of wine today also translates into a culture of travel. It is a journey that begins in and sets off from the vineyard, from working the land; it goes through an annual cycle and arrives in the glass, in the bottle, and on tables all over the world.”
Wine & Health
Central to the debate about the value of wine is its potential positive, and negative health outcomes. For years it has been argued that wine consumption patterns – mostly with food and in company – fosters a healthy relationship to alcohol, a topic that was addressed by Sara Farnetti, a specialist in Internal Medicine and in the Physiopathology of Metabolism and Nutrition, in a presentation entitled: Awareness and wine culture: for an informed and responsible consumption.
“Wine is a unique, genuine, cultural heritage and, as such, should be preserved”, Farinetti argued. “It makes no sense to present a ban on alcohol consumption; it would be logical and effective to make people responsible consumers, to deliberate on a review of habits. In this way, we would bring about a cultural change, teaching respect and care for the individual,’ she added.
Vincenzo Russo presenting The Secrets of the Brain for the Wine Experience
One of the talks I found most interesting was by Vincenzo Russo on “The secrets of the brain for the wine experience”. A professor of Consumer Psychology and Neuromarketing, and coordinator of the “Behavior and Brain Lab” Neuromarketing Research Centre at the IULM University of Milan, Russo delivered a fascinating presentation on how external perceptions outside the glass affect the experience of drinking wine.
Starting with an experimental tasting involving the audience that paired wines with music, Russo led the participants on a fascinating journey “inside the brain”, to discover how to enhance some perceptive processes and improve food and wine experiences.
“Can the flavour of a wine be modified by perceptive aspects that have nothing to do with the product itself? It certainly can,” Russo explained. “A great deal of research has been conducted in this area: from the effect of the colours of the products to the lighting in a venue, from the music of the location of the tasting to the way a dish is presented. These are elements that are only apparently secondary. Actually, these aspects can modify or reinforce some of the taste sensations.”
“The real problem for market researchers in the world of wine,” Russo continued, “is that, as David Ogylvi said in 1963, ‘consumers don’t think what they feel, they don’t say what they think and they don’t do what they say…’ A great phrase that makes us understand how research carried out with traditional tools, such as questionnaires and interviews, does not always manage to tell us the truth about what works from a marketing point of view. Neuromarketing techniques today offer us very powerful tools to provide us with precise indications of the persuasive effectiveness of a message or a label. Furthermore, knowledge of the brain allows us to create increasingly persuasive and effective messages.”
I urge you to try the simple and fun experiment at home of trying to match wine and music. You’ll quickly learn that there’s as much harmony and dissonance between certain types of wines and music, as there is between tannins, acids and alcohol.
And now, on to the most important part, the buyer’s guide to the best of over 200 wines tasted during the week. Ontario agents where known are listed next to each wine.
The Sommeliers
John Szabo’s 2025 Sicily En Primeur Buyer’s Guide: Sparkling
92 Planeta Carricante Metodo Classico Brut 2022 Sicilia DOC
NOBLE ESTATES WINES & SPIRITS INC.
22 months on the lees for this bottling, with fruit from Sciaranuova, but above the DOC limits for Etna, hence the Sicilia DOC designation. It’s perfectly clean and fresh, delivering green apple, citrus, and cedar-like savoury herbs. Long finish. Really solid bubbles. Ready to enjoy. Tasted May 2025.
John Szabo’s 2025 Sicily En Primeur Buyer’s Guide: Etna Bianco
96 Benanti Etna Bianco Superiore Pietra Marina 2020 DOC Etna Bianco
HALPERN ENTERPRISES
Easily Benanti’s most famous wine of any colour, the iconic Pietra Marina has a long history: “Since the very beginning in 1988, Giuseppe Benanti has aspired to demonstrate the high potential of Carricante grown in Milo. And indeed, this wine, whose name recalls volcanic landscapes, flintstones, minerals and saline sea breezes, is now unanimously considered one of the most typical, elegant and age-worthy whites in Italy”. Produced from100% carricante vines up to 90 years of age in the Contrada Rinazzo (whose younger vines are mostly bottled separately under the contrada name,this is fermented and aged entirely in stainless steel like all of Benanti’s whites for 30 months, followed by at least a year in bottle before release. The 2020 is a classic in the making, pouring a shimmering green-pale gold and offering a fruit-backwards, stones-forward flavour profile with tremendous finesse and length. There’s a density and purity here to the palate that defies easy description, with flavours akin to diesel and salty seaweed, wild broom and white smoke, while acids are terrifically succulent and saliva-inducing. A superb wine all around, drinking now but no rush – it should hold comfortably late into the 2030s. 10,000 bottles made. Tasted May 2025.
96 Graci Arcuría 2023 DOC Etna Bianco
CAVINONA INC
Graci’s spectacular 2023 Arcuría (in Castiglione di Sicilia, a northeast slope) is a top notch Corton-Charlemagne in the making, full stop. It’s half-aged in 1000 liters oak cask, and half in concrete, and shows incredible concentration and depth, and seamless, fluid palate, a monument to the mountain. I’d cellar another 2-3 years minimum to allow proper and full unfolding. Superb wine. Tasted May 2025.
96 MAUGERI ETNA BIANCO SUPERIORE CONTRADA PRAINO FRONTEMARE 2023 DOC Etna Bianco Superiore
CAVINONA INC
Closed on the nose for the time being, Maugeri’s Praino is an essence of stone with a squeeze of lemon juice, seamless and fresh, with well-dialed acids and alcohol in perfect harmony. Richly extracted and almost chewy with dense flavours; length is superb. Still has much scope to develop further; drink from 2027. Tasted May 2025.
96 MAUGERI ETNA BIANCO SUPERIORE CONTRADA VOLPARE FRONTEBOSCO 2023 DOC Etna Bianco Superiore
CAVINONA INC
Beautiful balance on the nose and palate, a high intensity, minerally wine, still quite tightly wound and not yet near prime. I love the succulent acids and the multiple layers, like foliated stones. Best from 2027. Tasted May 2025.
96 Girolamo Russo San Lorenzo 2023 DOC Etna Bianco
BRIX + MORTAR WINE CO
Russo’s generally excellent Contrada San Lorenzo, aged in tonneaux, some new, some old, is classically smoky in the Etna way here in 2023, with lovely, nicely integrating wood spice. The palate is long and dense, highly concentrated, seamless and salty. A superb vintage for this cru bianco. Tasted May 2025.
95 BENANTI Contrada Rinazzo 2023 DOC Etna Bianco
HALPERN ENTERPRISES
Notably more flinty and sulfurous than Benanti’s Cavaliere Bianco this vintage, a more restrained and backwards wine, with higher perceived acidity and even less fruit, all wet stones with a squeeze of lime. A real wine lover’s wine, uncompromising, pure, very clean and succulent. Best from 2026-2027. Tasted May 2025.
95 Benanti Etna Bianco Superiore Rinazzo 2023 DOC Etna Bianco
HALPERN ENTERPRISES
Contrada Rinazzo lies on the eastern flank of Etna in the commune of Milo, hence the Superiore designation (it’s the only area permitted to produce superiore whites), at around 800m a.s.l., facing the Straights of Messina. It’s the same contrada that provides for Benanti’s iconic Pietra Marina Bianco, but for this, the young vines (15 years old) are selected, grown in the traditional alberello system with chestnut wood stakes, at a planting density of 8,000 plants per hectare. And this 2023, fermented and aged in stainless steel, is amazingly smoky, fruit backwards, the way we like them, all wet stones. It’s gentle but intensely flavoured, creamy, long, highly impressive. A terrific vintage; best from 2027-2038. Tasted May 2025.
95 GRACI ETNA BIANCO DOC MUGANAZZI 2023 DOC Etna Bianco
CAVINONA INC
A particularly stony and flinty-smoky-sulfury example from Alberto Graci, with high intensity palate, really dense and concentrated, reminiscent of top notch white Burgundy (Corton?). Length is excellent – it hangs on and on, and beguiles with its creamy-fresh texture. Superb wine, a triumph of the vintage. Tasted May 2025.
95 Graci Muganazzi 2022 DOC Etna Bianco
CAVINONA INC
From organically farmed vineyards in Contrada Muganazzi on Etna’s northern slope in Passopisciaro at c. 700 m a.s.l., Graci’s 2022 falls on the reductive side at this stage in the expected house style, featuring savory wild herbs, citrus zest, cedar and Amalfi lemons alongside classic smoky notes. Flavour intensity is excellent. Though it’s priced below Arcuría, it’s very nearly its equal. Tasted May 2025.
95 MAUGERI ETNA BIANCO SUPERIORE CONTRADA VOLPARE 2023 DOC Etna Bianco Superiore
CAVINONA INC
Shows reductive-leesy-peanut shell quality, with CO2 still evident on the palate alongside high intensity, dense, low yielding vine flavours. Length and depth are excellent to be sure, a wine of evident quality and ambition. I’d cellar another 2-3 years minimum to see it come together. Lemony fruit and wet stones drive the flavour profile. Tasted May 2025.
95 PIETRADOLCE ARCHINERI ETNA BIANCO 2023 DOC Etna Bianco
WOODMAN WINES & SPIRITS
A nicely reserved and stony edition of Pietradolce’s Archineri Bianco, with fine intensity – I’m really liking these 2023s I have to say, the challenging, low-yielding vintage seems to have boosted density and concentration. The palate is indeed fullish and rich with acids and flavours, a mineral wash, a cascade of wet stones and lemon. Excellent length. Excellent wine, drinking even now, though best from 2026-2035. Tasted May 2025.
94 Barone di Villagrande Etna Bianco Superiore 2024 DOC
APPARITION WINES & SPIRITS
Lovely, bright and clean Etna Bianco here from Villagrande’s vineyards of the east side around Milo (the only are entitled to the “Superiore” designation). Aromatics are superb, and I love the crunchy, fresh acids, sapid and salty in the right way. A superb wine all in all. Best after 2026. 110,000 bottles made; 90% carricante, plus all the rest. Massal selection. Tasted May 2025.
94 BENANTI Contrada Cavaliere 2023 DOC Etna Bianco
HALPERN ENTERPRISES
Clean, citric, tightly wound, crystalline and stony, an Etna bianco of class and intensity, and genuine concentration. Really like the balance and the sapidity on offer, the purity and impeccable balance and length. Drinking well already, best after 2026. Tasted May 2025.
94 Girolamo Russo Feudo Bianco 2023 DOC Etna Bianco
BRIX + MORTAR WINE CO.
2023 was a year with painfully low production; almost no reds other than ‘A Rina were produced. Whites fared marginally better, and quality in any case was high with loads of natural flavour concentration. This is pure carricante crafted in a dense and smoky style with classic, classy reduction (flinty) really cleverly dialled. Superb length. Another top-notch wine from Giuseppe Russo. Tasted May 2025.
94 I CUSTODI Ante 2021 DOC Etna Bianco
GROUPE SOLEIL
Open, in a more oxidative-leaning style, consistent with the I Custodi house style it has to be said, also appealingly broad and flowery on the palate with plenty of lees influence and mineral water like purity and salinity. This style surely has many supporters with its almost autolytic character (a bit like flat champagne), and low-yielding, high-intensity fruit is evident. Best from now-2030 – I wouldn’t age this wine long term. Tasted May 2025.
93 BARONE DI VILLAGRANDE Etna Bianco Superiore 2023 DOC Etna Bianco Superiore
APPARITION WINES & SPIRITS
Attractively pure and stony, without artifice, perfectly mid-weight with a wash of stones and mineral water, crystalline and pure, a superb wine at the price. I’d confidently put this up against many white Burgundies at significantly higher prices, which it would outperform, and not just in terms of value. Carricante 85%, with 10% other local varieties; best from 2026. Tasted May 2025.
93 Benanti Etna Bianco Cavaliere 2023 DOC Etna Bianco
HALPERN ENTERPRISES
Contrada Cavaliere lies on the southwest side of the volcano, the ‘least Etna’ of all the contrade, more “Siciliano”, according to Antonio Benanti, with no sea influence, also among the highest vineyards on Etna at nearly 950m a.s.l., and one of the driest areas. The bianco is produced from 50 year-old vines trained in rows with and pruned in the guyot system as opposed to the more traditional high density, stake-trained parcels. It’s fermented and aged entirely in steel, and offers very good volume and sapidity on the palate, well-balanced, and savoury, lingering impressively on blanched almond and tarragon/anise flavours. Tasted May 2025.
93 FIRRIATO Cavanera Contrada Zottorinotto Balza delle Poiane 2022 DOC Etna Bianco
PROFILE WINE GROUP
Showing more oxidative development than the mean, also some (old, large?) wood influence, in a ripe, round style, still rich in acids. Intensity is high on the palate, with impressive depth and length. Starting to shift to diesel and gaining in complexity. One of the best Etna biancos I’ve had from Firriato I have to say. Drink now-2032 or so. Tasted May 2025.
93 GIROLAMO RUSSO FEUDO 2024 DOC Etna Bianco
Bianco BRIX + MORTAR WINE CO.
Very pure and mineral on the nose, with broad but succulent palate, a high-class wine to be sure. I find this seamless and stony in the most attractive way, rich in acids but without hard edges. Elegant and stately. Best from 2026 – this is already showing well even now. Tasted May 2025.
93 Graci Arcuria Bianco 2022 DOC Etna Bianco
CAVINONA INC.
Pure carricante from Passopisciaro at c. 600 meters a.s.l. Smoky, flinty, on the reductive side, even a bit rubbery, though this is a typical profile expected at this stage of evolution. The underlying substance is certainly excellent, and this will make a fine bianco in time; cellar at least another 2-3 years for best results. Tasted May 2025.
93 GRACI ETNA BIANCO DOC ARCURIA 2023 DOC Etna Bianco
CAVINONA INC
Aromatically subtle, reserved and stony on the nose, though the palate gives more than expected in an open and generous expression. I find it has a little less intensity than Graci’s Muganazzi, though is an excellent wine to be sure. Carries that seamless weight and creamy intensity well, and length is very good to excellent. Tasted May 2025.
93 Planeta Etna Bianco Contrada Tacciono 2023 DOC Etna Bianco
NOBLE ESTATES WINES & SPIRITS INC.
Terrific nose, a wash of minerals, green citrus fruit, sapid and delicious, with high salinity, perfumed in the smoky Etna style, a low yielding vintage with high density and concentration. Great stuff, one of Planeta’s best biancos. Tasted May 2025.
John Szabo’s 2025 Sicily En Primeur Buyer’s Guide: Other Sicilian White Varieties
93 Vinding Montecarrubo Cuvée Suzanne Bianco 2024 Sicilia Grillo DOC
NOBLE ESTATES WINES & SPIRITS INC.
The mid range grillo from Hannes Vinding, from vineyards at sea level right next to the Mediterranean in Marsala, all stainless. It pours more clearly than the ‘Piccolo Bianco” (less turbidity), and delivers finer aromas on the nose, precise citrus, white flowers, apples of various shades and especially green. The palate is sharp and tightly wound with terrific acids, delicate and fresh, yields are very low, 4-5 clusters/vine, around 25 hl/ha, which provides for density at just 12% alcohol. I like the resinous herbal notes. Fine and refined, delicious. Harvested towards the end of July. 20 year old vines. Tasted May 2025.
92 FEUDO MONTONI CATARRATTO MASSO 2023 IGT Terre Siciliane
PARADIGM FINE WINE AGENCY
Lovely nose here, like Sicilian confectionary, lime candies, all citric, lively and fresh, with terrific acids, such precision and energy, and great length, and such great value; I could drink this all day. Tasted May 2025.
92 Dei Principi di Spadafora Principe “G” Grillo 2022 IGT Terre Siciliane
(Not represented)
This newish label of this premium Grillo was first produced in 2017, though grillo in this style has been produced since 2006. Fermented in concrete and aged in steel, aged on the lees 6 months. It pours a pale, shimmering yellow-green and offers plenty of freshness on the nose, lively and enlivening, fresh green herbs, chamomile, wildflowers, lemon zest, and more. This is good grillo to be sure, vibrant and fresh but not underripe nor lean – it makes you salivate. 13% alcohol declared. Served with couscous, chickpea, eggplant, zucchini, white pepper, melissa (herb that smells like citronella). Tasted May 2025.
92 TENUTA DI CASTELLARO Bianco Porticello 2024 IGT Terre Siciliane
BUYERS & CELLARS WINE PURVEYORS INC
Pure carricante. Clean and aromatic, savoury, like fresh laurel, lemon balm, verbena, super salty on the palate, saliva-demanding, an ultra-volcanic expression from Lipari, so succulent and juicy. Really loving the energy and flavour profile here. Well done, well-priced. Tasted May 2025.
91 ALESSANDRO DI CAMPOREALE Monreale Catarratto Mandranova 2023 DOC
(Not represented)
From the oldest vines planted in the 1980s, pure catarratto extra lucido, my favourite biotype of catarratto with the lowest sugar and highest acid among the biotypes of this widely planted grape in Sicily. 20% is aged in 600l tonneaux with low toast with the remainder in steel. The 2023 is currently closed and tightly wound on the nose, but grows with time in the glass. It’s lean and citric, limey-lemony on the palate with high acids, and long, linear palate. I love the crunchy acids here, the simmering citrus and wet stone character, the light weight and modest alcohol. Very good length, too. Really enjoying this; drink or hold 3-5 years. Tasted May 2025.
91 Donnafugata Lighea 2024 Sicilia DOC Zibibbo
UNIVINS
Lighea is named after the protagonist mermaid in a Lampedusa novel (and depicted on the label), and represents Donnafugata’s dry muscat produced from vineyards on the island of Pantelleria though vinified on the “mainland”. Since dry wines are not part of the Pantelleria DOC, it falls under the more generic Sicilia DOC. 2024 was a very challenging vintage, a very hot and dry one following on the dry 2023 vintage, resulting in yields down 50% on the island (while on Etna, production was normal). But in any case, this is a terrifically salty and sapid wine, not excessively aromatic but particularly savoury-herbal, like the Mediterranean scrub that grows all over the island. The palate is crisp and dry, savoury and gastronomic, clean and delicious. A great introduction to this volcanic terroir, to be enjoyed over the near term. First produced in 1990; 100,000 bottles produced. Tasted May 2025.
91 Firriato Favinia La Murciara 2022 IGP Terre Siciliane
PROFILE WINE GROUP
A uniquely Sicilian blend of grillo-zibibbo from Favignana Island, a 4.5 ha parcel on calcareous sands, just a few meters from the sea and obviously at sea level. It’s a lovely and sapid, super salty wine, with fruit but not exaggerated tropicality – it’s nicely reined in and restrained with being sever. Good length. I like this very much and could happily sip this seaside all day. Sadly, less than 3000 bottles are made. Tasted May 2025.
91 Dei Principi di Spadafora DON PIETRO BIANCO 2024 DOC Monreale
(Not represented)
Don Pietro, the higher end catarratto from Spadafora, is fermented in concrete and aged in stainless steel on the lees for a longer period than the ‘classic’ version. The result in 2024 is a lovely, light, floral, green apple-flavoured white shows that house-style, natural feel, open and lightly bruised, shifting to papaya but not there yet, and also limey underlying freshness with crisp acids and long finish. I love the saline quality, the lingering finish. Quality Sicilian white. Drink from now, but should hold late into the decade. Tasted May 2025.
90 Planeta Terebinto Grillo 2024 DOC Sicilia Menfi
NOBLE ESTATES WINES & SPIRITS INC.
Planeta’s pure grillo is a stony and saline, fresh white wine of some care and class, with more density and depth than the modest price would lead one to believe. Flavours run through the green tropical spectrum, neither loud nor shy. Properly lean and stony in the end. Good stuff. Tasted May 2025.
90 SANTA TRESA NOSTRU CATARRATTO LUCIDO-CORTESE 2024 IGP Terre Siciliane
(Not represented)
Closed on the nose, tightly wound, but more giving than expected on the palate, fresh and well-balanced, succulent and juicy, with fine length and depth. A tidy little value here. Tasted May 2025.
90 Dei Principi di Spadafora CATARRATTO BIO 2024 IGP TERRE SICILIANE
(Not represented)
The basic catarratto from Spadafora (before higher level Don Pietro) is aromatically open with a slightly aldehydic profile in the 2024 vintage, not exaggerated, also with a ‘natural feel, though analyzed at a VA of just 0.25, with 40ppm total sulfur dioxide. Yellow apples are binned, with more bruised fruit, lemon pith and papaya, and lovely green phenolics on the palate. Pleasantly lean, tart and citric, declared at just 11.5% alcohol, with crunchy-green acids; complexity is modest, though length hangs on longer than expected, growing and growing in the glass with air. A solid terrace wine with good sapidity. the kind that one could consume a lot of. Best from now. Tasted May 2025.
88 Planeta Alastro 2024 DOC Sicilia Menfi
NOBLE ESTATES WINES & SPIRITS INC.
Grecanico and 20% sauvignon blanc. Fresh, straight from the vat, featuring thiols like passion fruit and guava. Balanced, mid-weight palate drink now; fully ready. Tasted May 2025.
88 Planeta Allemanda 2024 Sicilia Noto DOC
NOBLE ESTATES WINES & SPIRITS INC.
Allemanda is made from muscat blanc a petit grains, vinified dry, to yield a fragrant white in the varietal style, also sapid with great acids, clean and fruity. Good length. Not a wine of massive depth or complexity, but nor was that the goal, it’s a bianco to enjoy on the terrace, or balcony, preferably seaside or lakeside. Tasted May 2025.
88 Planeta Segreta Bianco 2024 Sicilia DOC
NOBLE ESTATES WINES & SPIRITS INC.
Grecanico, grillo, and chardonnay, with a splash of viognier and fiano from Planeta’s Menfi property. Clean and fresh, straight from the vat, fruity, verging on tropical with a sauvignon-esque [profile. Clean and correct, to drink young. Sharp value. Tasted May 2025.
John Szabo’s 2025 Sicily En Primeur Buyer’s Guide: Rosato
92 Girolamo Russo Etna Rosato 2024 DOC Etna Rosato
BRIX + MORTAR WINE CO.
A rosato made from pure nerello mascalese in this hot and dry vintage, Russo’s 2024 shows terrific perfume on the edge of flinty reduction and sharp red fruit, finding a happy milieu. Density and intensity are high. This is fabulous stuff. Tasted May 2025.
91 Barone di Villagrande Rosato 2024 Etna Rosato
APPARITION WINES & SPIRITS
Produced from a parcel of old vines, a field blend of mostly nerello mascalese, and 20% of ‘other grapes’, including rarities like terribile, mantonico, and other ‘lost’ grapes. Villagrande is replanting with the same field mix. And it’s a delicious wine, perfumed, clean, very pale in colour. I love the lively, sapid palate, delivering loads of flavour in this hot and very dry vintage. Great length with a properly salty finish. Tasted May 2025.
91 Graci Etna Rosato 2024 DOC Etna Rosato
CAVINONA INC
Super pale coloured rosé; sapid, juicy, highly flavourful, long finish. A terrific rosato, representative. Tasted May 2025.
John Szabo’s 2025 Sicily En Primeur Buyer’s Guide: Etna Rosso
96 GRACI ETNA ROSSO DOC ARCURIA 2022 DOC Etna Rosso
CAVINONA INC
Lovely, perfumed, delicate, stylish without bombast, refined, such a fine and elegant wine, silky, firm, perfectly balanced, precise, a marvel. Such a great bottling, surely one of the best of the vintage. Tasted May 2025.
96 GRACI ETNA ROSSO DOC ARCURIA °SOPRA IL POZZO° 2020 DOC Etna Rosso
CAVINONA INC
This is somewhat backwards compared to the 2022 Arcuría tasted alongside, Graci’s sub-plot within the contrada. It shares the same silky tannin pedigree, marvelous finesse and delicacy, a special wine to be sure, but arguably not worth the nearly 3x price, though time may tell a different tale. Tasted May 2025.
95 Benanti Etna Rosso Riserva Rovittello Particella No. 341 2019 DOC Etna Rosso
HALPERN ENTERPRISES
I’d rate the Rovittello as Benanti’s most classic Etna Rosso, made, since 2015, exclusively from the small, pre-phylloxera portion of the vineyard with an extended vinification, maturation and refining period of 60 months, of which at least 30 months are spent in large wooden cask. I love the smoky edge, the silky, smooth beguiling texture, and especially the spectacularly long and dense finish despite having almost no colour – it’s as pale as pale can be. How such a seemingly delicate wine, at least in appearance, can hold so much flavour is one of the great mysteries of the wine world. No need to unravel it however to enjoy this. Drinking really well now, or continue to hold into the mid-30s. Tasted May 2025.
95 Girolamo Russo Feudo 2022 DOC Etna Rosso
BRIX + MORTAR WINE CO
The most aromatically closed out of the Russo contrada range at the moment, the 2022 Feudo is also dense and structured. Exceptional length, and depth. Loads of tannins, should last well, likely the most ageworthy of the lot. Tasted May 2025.
95 Girolamo Russo San Lorenzo Piano delle Colombe 2022 DOC Etna Rosso
BRIX + MORTAR WINE CO
Piano delle Colombe is a small parcel within the San Lorenzo cru, first bottled apart in the 2017 vintage, with vines of approximately the same age, but ” always gives something different” says Russo. It sits in the sweet elevation spot on the north side of the mountain, and ripeness is high in the hot and dry 2022 vintage. It pours a pale red-garnet colour and conveys a maturing flavour profile, but still firm and structured on the palate, if silky, tightly wound and firm, with evident depth and density, and exceptional length. It bears a resemblance to the 2022 Calderara Sottana – I find differences between the crus to be less pronounced this vintage, and the wines in general should reach peak sooner than cooler vintages. Pricey to be sure, but one of Russo’s best no doubt, even if I might drink the San Lorenzo ‘regular’ bottling with greater ease. This should hit peak drinking from about 2027-2035. Tasted May 2025.
John Szabo’s 2025 Sicily En Primeur Buyer’s Guide: Other Sicilian Red Varieties & Blends
93 VALLE DELL’ACATE FRAPPATO VIGNA BIDDINE SOTTANA Vino di Contrada 2024 DOC VITTORIA FRAPPATO
HALPERN ENTERPRISES
Great nose here again from this ever-reliable estate, clean and perfumed, well-managed, all strawberry-raspberry fruit-flavoured, delicate but with depth and persistence in spades. This really hangs on and on, with concentration and elegance; best from 2026. Tasted May 2025.
92 COS Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico 2022 DOCG Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico
THE LIVING VINE INC.
A lovely Cerasuolo from COS, dense and concentrated as per the hot, dry vintage, but with real panache and style, and silky, fluid texture, and dense extraction without sharp shoulders. Length and depth are excellent. This is simply marvellous wine, without need for long cellaring – drink over the next 2-4 years, lightly chilled. Tasted May 2025.
92 FEUDO MONTONI NERELLO MASCALESE TERRE DI ELIO 2022 IGT Terre Siciliane
PARADIGM FINE WINE AGENCY
A nerello mascalese from estate vines, far from Etna, of light and zesty nature, well-dialed without excess, perfumed, firm, taut and perfectly proportioned. Lovely length, too. Quality wine. Tasted May 2025.
92 VALLE DELL’ACATE IL FRAPPATO 2024 DOC VITTORIA FRAPPATO
HALPERN ENTERPRISES
Lovely purity and soaring red fruit perfume here off the top, Valle dell’Acate’s 2024 frappato is a marvel of grace and pleasure, with fine, powdery tannins and long finish. A near perfect rendition. Tasted May 2025.
91 Alessandro di Camporeale Monreale Perricone Mandranova 2023 DOC
(Not represented)
This is a fine example of the native perricone variety, juicy, with firm acids, high succulence, represents this rare, late ripening grape well, a modern and stylish example. Plummy fruit leads with fresh black cherry flavours, and length is very good. Lovely stuff. Tasted May 2025.
91 VALLE DELL’ACATE BDN CERASUOLO DI VITTORIA CLASSICO 2022 DOCG
HALPERN ENTERPRISES
Great aromatics here, mature and medicinal but not oxidized, with fresh-muddled blackberry/black cherry fruit. Length is excellent. A lovely wine from this reliable name. Drink now or over the near term. Why wait. Tasted May 2025.
90 MAGGO VINI VIGNA DI PETTINEO CERASUOLO DI VITTORIA CLASSICO DOCG 2023
(Not represented)
Clean and appealingly fragrant, evergreen and pine-inflected, resinous in a good way, with red wine gum-like profile, attractive. The palate is mid-weight, firm and nicely structured, with very good length. Needs another 2-3 years I’d say. Frappato 50% – Nero d’Avola 50%. Tasted May 2025.
90 PLANETA Frappato 2024 DOC Vittoria
NOBLE ESTATES WINES & SPIRITS INC.
Lovely fresh, herbal, red fruit, strawberry-inflected frappato in the classic style here from the ever-reliable Planeta, juicy and lively, delivering the necessary and more. Chill and enjoy over the near term, lots to admire here. Tasted May 2025.
Other Red: International Varieties
94 Dei Principi di Spadafora Sole Dei Padre 2012 IGT Terre Siciliane
(Not represented)
A bottling dedicated by Francesco Spadafora to his father, and now Enrica to her father. This 2012 was bottled in 2022, a pure syrah from a north-facing parcel, fermented in concrete then aged in steel, then into second use barrel for a year, then back into steel before bottling. 4.5 t/ha. Really pretty nose, ripe, fruity, like blueberry compote with excellent purity, I mean really excellent. Wood is perfectly dialled. Remarkably fresh, would be hard pressed to guess more than 3-4 years old. Tasted May 2025.
94 Vinding Montecarrubo Vigna Grande 2019 IGT Terre Siciliane
NOBLE ESTATES WINES & SPIRITS INC.
The top red at Vinding, made from pure syrah, a French massal selectionfrom the hill of Hermitage, planted in the home vineyard in 2010, the highest parcel at 180m on shell limestone. It’s clearly the finest red from the estate in my opinion, pouring a pure red-garnet and walking the oxidative line perfectly. It shows a touch of residual oak influence and varietal black pepper, with sweet blackberry, black cherry fruit. The palate is rich, dense and silky with excellent length, composed, contained, with delicate and lacy tannins. Acids are saline, crunchy and saliva-inducing, with a mentholated finish. Length is excellent. Ready to enjoy. Tasted May 2025.
John Szabo’s 2025 Sicily En Primeur Buyer’s Guide: Sweet
96 Donnafugata Ben Ryé 2022 DOC Moscato di Pantelleria
UNIVINS
Passito di Pantelleria is made in a two-stage process like Tokaji, using a dry base muscat wine harvested early, to which, in this case is added 74kg of grapes sun-dried for around 3 weeks, in several steps not to overwhelm yeasts, harvested a bit later but perfectly healthy, which brings the finished wine up to c. 200 grams of sugar but also with very high acids, 7.6 g/l in 2022, at 14.5% alcohol. This is a dense and rich marmalade of a wine, sweet, rich unctuous, silky, which pours a medium-deep amber colour. Toffee and caramel, dried apricot, honey, candied orange peel, an essence of muscat flavours. The palate is ultra smooth and the length is exceptional. A very fine wine, and can last for a couple of decades no doubt. Tasted May 2025.
93 Donnafugata Kabir 2024 DOC Moscato di Pantelleria
UNIVINS
“Kabir” means “the Great” in Arabic, a wine that has conquered its own niche in the shadow of Donnafugata’s excellent (and more expensive and extreme) Ben Ryé. It’s a slightly late-harvested version but without dried grapes as for Ben Ryé Passito di Pantelleria, carrying 100 grams of residual sugar effortlessly; fermentation is stopped at about 11.5% alcohol, chilled, filtered, sulfured and bottled. It’s lovely and fresh on the nose with the classic wild resinous scrub notes of muscat from this volcanic island, sweet citrus and fresh, sweet muscat flavours. The palate enters sweet but dries out towards the back end thanks to high acids, over 7 grams, and the salinity of seaside wines. Excellent length. This can work either as aperitif or finisher. Tasted May 2025.