Winemaker Notes
To the nose, it presents Mediterranean aromas of citrus fruits (lemon, orange, grapefruit), stone fruits (ripe peach, nectarine, apricot), jasmine, and a mineral note. The palate is consistent and complex, featuring juicy, and refreshing sensations, followed by lightly salty mineral impressions. Its acidity and freshness amplify the fruity-mineral flavors, ending with a lingering aftertaste.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2023 Bianco demands attention with a beguiling bouquet that mixes crushed rocks, sesame seeds and curry leaves with nectarines and lemon zest. This opens with a pretty inner sweetness contrasted by masses of salty minerals and zesty acidity as ripe orchard fruits cascade throughout. The 2023 tapers off dramatically, long and spicy. A sour citrus tinge forces the mouth to salivate as hints of candied lime and a tart Granny Smith apple concentration slowly fade. In a word, fantastic.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A pure expression of Carricante, the Idda 2023 Sicilia Bianco shows citrusy notes, some freshly cut grass, honey and creamy almond. This native grape from the volcanic slopes of Mount Etna is usually quite sharp and steely in presentation, but this bottle from the Gaja and Graci winemaking team offers more textural heft and overall fruit weight. When you look deeper, you might find Sicilian tones of bergamot and caper blossom. Idda does a great job with this mid-weight white wine.
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James Suckling
A crunchy white with sliced-pear and lemon character, highlighted with green-apple undertones. It’s medium-bodied with a pretty core of fruit and a fresh finish.
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Wine Spectator
Fresh and fragrant, with a waft of citronella accenting flavors of peach skin, poached apricot, preserved lemon and toasted hazelnut. Lightly plush and pleasing in texture, with hints of lemon oil, white mocha and fleur de sel adding fine detail on the lasting finish. Drink now through 2030. 300 cases imported.
In 2015, Angelo Gaja and Alberto Graci met for the first time. As the Gaja’s got to better know Alberto and his family over time, Angelo’s deep curiosity for their culture and land kept growing, and the desire of working together came naturally. Toward the end of 2016, based on the mutual respect and love of the artisanal approach in winemaking, Gaja and Graci decided to form a joint venture, a first for both of their families.
“Idda” (ee-duh) means “she” in the Sicilian dialect, which is a term of endearment and expression of awe with which Sicilians refer to Mt. Etna. For the people of Sicily, Etna is more than a mountain; it is a breathing being with her own identity and personality, a quick-tempered, capricious, yet maternal and protective mother on whom they depend on each day. In honor of Etna, IDDA is the name of our new adventure. A joint venture involving two families: Gaja and Graci (Gra-chi), that began in 2016, founded to explore the southern slope of Etna. Together searching for vineyards that express elegance and complexity driven by the specific site, soil & sunlight- that is unique to this land. IDDA is pure energy
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.