Winemaker Notes
Balsamic, grassy and notes of many different fruits. Opens with notes of Mediterranean macchia and aromas of seaweed piled on Sicilian beaches. The red fruit is sour cherry and very ripe blackberry; the citrus fruit is bergamot and bitter orange. The spices are carob flour and incense. On the palate the ripe fruit combines well with the wood tannin in accompanying a very densely textured tannin but open and measured to the structure of this wine with its complex and unmistakable personality.
Pair with red meat, well-matured and marbled; even better with more intense flavors like game, lamb, pork or even sliced sausage.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
The nose starts bubbly and sweet, with aromas of black plums, cherry and vanilla, then turns savory but still crackly, with notes of pencil shavings, pepper, graphite and leather. The palate doubles back toward juicy fruit with figs and more plums, then shifts again toward that sanguine earthiness, but textured tannins and almost silky acid unifies the whole.
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James Suckling
Blackberry, floral and dark earth aromas with hints of fresh black mushroom. Medium to full body with round and creamy tannins and a delicious undertone. Just a hint of vanilla bean underneath the fruit.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
One of the icon wines of Sicily, the Planeta 2020 Sicilia Noto Santa Cecilia is all Nero d'Avola dressed up with elegance and precision. The wine is softly textured and layered with dark fruit, black cherry, spice and sweet tobacco. Santa Cecilia embraces a classic approach with good balance between generous fruit and carefully managed oak.
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Wine Spectator
Bright and fragrant, with a lush creaminess that carries flavors of strawberry preserves, dried cherry, tar, tea rose and singed orange peel. Well-spiced and minerally, with lightly chalky tannins providing fine definition. Nero d'Avola. Drink now through 2030. 2,667 cases made, 100 cases imported.
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Decanter
Vinified in stainless steel, with a long maceration of around 35 days, Santa Cecilia then matures in French oak barrels of various ages, with just 10% new wood. It's a well made Nero d'Avola with a purity and freshness to its ripe red and black berry and cherry character. Intense and spicy, with zingy acidity, it features sapid cherry and black fruits along with notes of chocolate and balsam and mouthcoating tannins. Full and rich in fruit but quite vertical in style, it's a lively and ageable example of what can be achieved with this signature Sicilian grape.
“It is a new way of thinking about the journey through Sicily; after Menfi, Vittoria, then Noto, then Etna, then Milazzo. Not a random route, but one strongly linked to the variety of countryside, to the winds, to the character of the people and thus of their wine…” –Diego Planeta
Planeta encompasses six distinct wine estates across Sicily, each one inspired and constructed in harmony with its surroundings and dedicated to its terroir.
For five centuries and seventeen generations, the Planeta family has been involved in the Sicilian agricultural sector. Their work on the island has contributed to the revitalization of Sicilian winemaking, now one of the most dynamic and sought-after viticultural regions in the world. Planeta’s journey begins at Sambuca di Sicilia, on the estate owned by the family since the 1600s. Here on Italy's most enchanting island, three enthusiastic young Sicilians, Alessio, Francesca and Santi Planeta, under the guidance of Diego Planeta, began their winemaking venture in the mid-1980s. Subsequent years were spent matching the extraordinarily diverse Sicilian soils with both indigenous and international varieties. Years of careful research paid off when the Planeta wines were met with immediate critical acclaim upon introduction in the U.S. in the late 1990s.
Planeta’s six boutique wineries include: Ulmo at Sambuca di Sicilia, Dispensa at Menfi, Dorilli at Vittoria, Buonivini at Noto, Sciara Nuova on Etna at Castiglione di Sicilia, and the newest addition, La Baronia at Capo Milazzo. Each vineyard site is carefully cultivated with grapes that best compliment the local terroir.
Santi, daughter of Diego Planeta, leads the international marketing and sales component of the wineries. Alessio, the head winemaker and viticulturist since 1996, has been instrumental in identifying the best grape varieties for the diverse Sicilian soils. Santi leads as head of sales for the European market and spearheads the marketing initiatives for the wineries. Alessio, Francesca and Santi Planeta established the company and their comprehensive winemaking approach, but the whole family is with them, rooted in Sicilian agriculture for generations. They are a family and a company of ambitious aims, following strict principles of quality, a rigorous respect for the environment and social responsibility.
Boldly opulent and robust, Nero d’Avola is Sicily’s most widely planted red grape. Nero d’Avola performs well both as a single varietal bottling and in blends. It loves hot, arid climates and Sicily's old vines are aptly head-trained close to the ground, making them resistant to strong winds. A few pioneering producers in California as well as Australia farm Nero d’Avola in the same way. Somm Secret—Nero d’Avola's other name, Calabrese, suggests origins from the mainland region of Calabria.
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.