Winemaker Notes
Blend: 60% Carricante, 25% Catarratto, 10% Grecanico, 5% Minnella
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
This has a restrained white-pepper and mineral character, lemon bush and pulp. On the palate, the acidity is firmly integrated with citrus, flint, concentrated fruit and a medium to full body. The finish is supersavory and tense.
-
Vinous
Honeyed florals, candied ginger, hints of fennel and crushed green apples form a spicy and inviting bouquet as the 2023 Etna Bianco opens in the glass. This plays depths of ripe orchard fruit against a core of salty minerals and savory spices as a wave of stimulating acidity completely resets the palate. The 2023 tapers off perfumed and long, leaving a pleasantly sour tinge of citrus that puckers the cheeks.
-
Wine Spectator
Mouthwatering and minerally, this light- to medium-bodied white laces sleek acidity and a tangy streak of salinity with chopped almond and apricot flavors, showing accents of Meyer lemon peel, sage and gooseberry. Carricante, Catarratto, Grecanico and Inzolia. Drink now through 2033.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend of 70% Carricante, 20% Catarratto, 5% Grecanico and 5% Inzolia, the Tenuta delle Terre Nere 2023 Etna Bianco sees stainless steel only and represents a mix of estate and purchased fruit. Production is an ample 100,000 bottles. This is a simple and very transparent expression that reveals the character of the volcano with elegant flintiness and minerals. Beyond those saline aromas are plusher tones of white peach and honeydew melon that spread out over the mid-palate.
With hundreds of white grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended white wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used in white wine blends, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a variety that creates a soft and full-bodied white wine blend, like Chardonnay, would do well combined with one that is more fragrant and naturally high in acidity. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
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.