SommSelect Editorial Director David Lynch marvels at the progress the wines of Mount Etna have made in a relatively short amount of time. The pioneering Benanti winery has been there every step of the way.
As I’ve stated before, no one was talking about Etna wines twenty years ago. Well, that’s not entirely true—the Benanti family was talking about them, and making great ones, long before most of today’s Etna impresarios ever set foot in the place. When I first visited Sicily in the late-1990s, I was pretty much oblivious to what was happening on Etna, even as legends-in-the-making like Salvo Foti (Benanti’s longtime enologist) were turning indigenous local grapes like Nerello Mascalese (red) and Carricante (white) into the best Sicilian wines no one was drinking. Well, I shouldn’t say no one—I’m just embarrassed that I wasn’t plugged into the Etna phenomenon sooner, like Giuseppe Benanti was; he founded his family winery originally as a hobby project in 1988, and has since handed it over to his twin sons, Salvino and Antonio. Today’s 2016 Etna Bianco from Benanti is not just an excellent Italian white wine but an important one—a reference-point bottling and a sibling to the most acclaimed white from Carricante ever produced (Benanti’s single-vineyard “Pietramarina”). Blessed with a long growing season at high altitudes on the eastern slopes of the Etna Volcano, the 100% Carricante in this 2016 displays profound mineral depth and floral aromatics reminiscent of both Chablis and the Savoie. It’s hard to believe that a white from this far south can feel so much like a wine of the cool, mountainous north, but such is Etna—implausible and amazing, with wines to match. This is an Italian white that should not be missed!
As detailed in a
Wine Spectator article from last year, Salvino and Antonio Benanti has doubled down on the indigenous grapes and old vines of Etna, re-focusing a company that had grown a little unwieldy with vineyard holdings elsewhere in Sicily. The family property is still centered around an ancient stone winery structure on the eastern slopes of the volcano, in the village of Viagrande. Although they’ve since planted newer vineyards, much of Benanti’s Carricante vines are old, gnarled
alberelli (“little trees,” or bush-trained vines) at elevations reaching to 1,000 meters and higher. The soils, of course, are black volcanic ash strewn with pumice stones, with vine age ranging from 35-50 years. As is the case with so many indigenous Italian grape varieties, Carricante is not found anywhere else but Etna—and unlike most southern Italian whites, many of which are harvested in August, Carricante is a late-ripening variety that doesn’t typically reach peak maturity until mid-October.
Combine the cool Etna terroir with Carricante’s naturally high acidity and you get white wines of palate-enlivening freshness, as well as structure for aging. This 2016, labeled simply as ‘Etna Bianco’ DOC, is 100% Carricante fermented and aged in steel—a lively, transparent expression of place that’s the wine equivalent of splashing cold water on your face. In the glass, it’s a reflective straw-gold with hints of green at the rim, with aromas of green apple, white grapefruit, lime zest, white flowers, and a note of smoke/flint reminiscent of Pouilly-Fumé. It is racy yet textured, with mouth-watering freshness that makes me crave Italian-style
crudo (raw fish) drizzled with lemon juice and good olive oil. Further, I think this wine has the capacity to improve over the short term; its Chablis-like grip should soften with a few years in the cellar, if you choose to lay a few bottles down. Otherwise, pull the cork tonight, decant for about 30 minutes and serve at 50 degrees in all-purpose white wine stems. Stuff a whole branzino with lemon slices and lots of herbs and roast it whole. Absolute Italian perfection.
— David Lynch
