Winemaker Notes
An explosion of aromas of ripe fruit and the aromatic content of white flowers which magically transport the taster to the slopes of Etna. The wine manages to combine softness and strength with a drinkable richness, with fruit flavors of lemon peel and green apple linked to an endearing mineral power which prolongs the finish.
An extraordinary companion for dishes based on fish of a certain oiliness and thus ideal for any gastronomic experience encountered by the sea.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Slightly evolved and showing a deep sense of complexity and textural richness, the Planeta 2018 Sicilia Carricante Eruzione 1614 is yet another reason to love Etna's terrific Carricante grape. (There's also a 10% touch of Riesling in this edition of 62,000 bottles.) That extra time in bottle, tasted now three years after the harvest, produces dusty mineral definition and ashy volcanic tones. The wine is linear and precise with more austerity that raises the bar in terms of its food-pairing potential. A beautiful seafood platter with grilled prawns might do the trick.
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Vinous
Decidedly more savory than sweet and flinty as well, the 2018 Carricante Eruzione 1614 sends up a stunning bouquet of dried apricots, grilled orange and hints of white pepper. Its silky and pliant textures quickly gain a more tactile feel, as a mix of bright acids, saline-minerals, tart orchard fruits and sour citrus cascades across the palate. There are depths unseen here, as the 2018 displays a youthful density while remaining lifted, balanced and simply tempting the imagination as to what’s to come with further cellaring. A beautiful Etna Carricante with a 10% addition of Riesling that shows tremendous tension. Well done.
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Wine & Spirits
This wine tastes like salted lemon rock candy, with a hard mineral core and a dense texture balanced by tangy citrus tones. It combines high-elevation carricante, grown at over 2,800 feet on the slopes of Mt. Etna, with ten percent of riesling, all vinified in stainless steel to preserve the fresh aromas and high-toned, tart fruit flavors that make this a perfect partner for pan-fried sole in a lemon butter sauce.
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James Suckling
Lemon-rind, pear and green-apple aromas follow through to a full body with a round, creamy palate of ripe and dried fruit that comes across mostly tropical. Creamy texture. Really tangy.
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.