Winemaker Notes
Contrada Blandano is born from a selection of Terra Costantino's best grapes, from their passion, time and patience.
To produce the Contrada Blandano they only use the grapes of the old vines, making a careful selection during ripening in the vineyard and at the time of harvest. They try to bottle only the best of what the Viagrande area can offer. A long aging, both in cask and in bottle, gives the wine complexity, structure and elegance.
Blend: 90% Carricante,10% Catarratto
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A bright, mineral and fresh white with aromas of apricot stones, chamomile, lemon verbena and seashells. It's medium-bodied with some phenolic bite and bright acidity. Dry and focused. From organically grown grapes. 90% carricante and 10% catarratto.
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Vinous
Dusty florals, sweet smoke, nectarines and a hint of petrol introduces the 2018 Etna Bianco Contrada Blandano. This presents textures of pure silk, offset by a more savory core of tart orchard fruits and subtle spices. Its minerality comes through on the finish—long, staining and refined, leaving a salty flourish as hints of apricot and lime slowly recede.
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Wine Enthusiast
The nose opens with the aromas of butter and herbs dressed with lemon zest of a fritto misto by the sea before the palate gives a lush, more opulent iteration of these notes, accompanied by the unmistakable salinity of the sea air.
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Decanter
From vines in the district of Viagrande to the southeast of Etna, this white spends several months in botti grandi before a long ageing in bottle. Floral and flinty, it displays waxy and pineapple scents and rich tropical fruit flavours with a creamy background, however it's vertical and has a refreshing pithiness to it.
There are hundreds of white grape varieties grown throughout the world. Some are indigenous specialties capable of producing excellent single varietal wines. Each has its own distinct viticultural characteristics, as well as aroma and flavor profiles.
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.