Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Pure Carricante, aged in steel tanks. A waxy but bracing nose, with apricot, apple and a mineral tang. Full-bodied and creamy, yet has a fine acidic cut, with a crisp assertive impression on the palate. Long stony finish; energy and power.
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James Suckling
Honeysuckle and dried-lemon aromas and hints of straw follow through to a full body with lemon curd and dried fruit and just the right hint of citrus at the end. A rich and powerful Etna white, without a heavy use of oak. Drink now.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Another brilliant white brought in by Terlato is the 2017 Etna Bianco, which is 100% Carricante brought up all in stainless steel. This medium gold-colored effort boasts an exotic bouquet of ripe apples, candied lemons, and exotic spice. It's medium-bodied, has terrific depth of fruit, juicy acidity (it literally makes you salivate), and a great finish, all of which will make it shine on the dinner table. I'd be thrilled to drink bottles over the coming year or two.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Alta Mora by Cusumano definitely seems to have found its stride on Etna. The 2017 Etna Bianco is a lean to medium-bodied wine with lots of aromatic intrigue. You get a big dose of wild herb (like sage) followed by fresh apricot, natural rubber and flinty mineral. This is a delightful white wine with long persistence and a very fresh, snappy style. Granny Smith apple, white almond, crushed stone and citrus are part of the bouquet. This is an excellent value wine. Some 30,000 bottles were made.
Rating: 91+ -
Wine Enthusiast
Spanish broom, yellow stone fruit and crushed herb delicately drive the aromas. Reflecting the nose, the fresh, savory palate delivers juicy yellow pear, lemon zest, wild sage and a graphite note. A saline note perks up the linear finish.
Carricante has grown on the slopes of Sicily’s Mt. Etna for the last thousand years. It is the dominant grape in Etna Bianco DOC blends, with Catarratto as a possible minor blending partner. The best examples come from volcanic soils at higher altitudes where a large diurnal temperature shift allows slow and steady ripening and the development of Carricante’s naturally high acidity. Somm Secret—A vine variety capable of high yields if not tended to properly, Carricante gets its name from, carica, the Italian word for “load.”
A large, geographically and climatically diverse island, just off the toe of Italy, Sicily has long been recognized for its fortified Marsala wines. But it is also a wonderful source of diverse, high quality red and white wines. Steadily increasing in popularity over the past few decades, Italy’s fourth largest wine-producing region is finally receiving the accolades it deserves and shining in today's global market.
Though most think of the climate here as simply hot and dry, variations on this sun-drenched island range from cool Mediterranean along the coastlines to more extreme in its inland zones. Of particular note are the various microclimates of Europe's largest volcano, Mount Etna, where vineyards grow on drastically steep hillsides and varying aspects to the Ionian Sea. The more noteworthy red and white Sicilian wines that come from the volcanic soils of Mount Etna include Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio (reds) and Carricante (whites). All share a racy streak of minerality and, at their best, bear resemblance to their respective red and white Burgundies.
Nero d’Avola is the most widely planted red variety, and is great either as single varietal bottling or in blends with other indigenous varieties or even with international ones. For example, Nero d'Avola is blended with the lighter and floral, Frappato grape, to create the elegant, Cerasuolo di Vittoria, one of the more traditional and respected Sicilian wines of the island.
Grillo and Inzolia, the grapes of Marsala, are also used to produce aromatic, crisp dry Sicilian white. Pantelleria, a subtropical island belonging to the province of Sicily, specializes in Moscato di Pantelleria, made from the variety locally known as Zibibbo.