Mount Etna has established a reputation for fine reds with the most elegant examples of Nerello Mascalese coming from the north side of the volcano, so I was surprised on a recent visit to find a preoccupation with Etna Bianco DOC fuelled by a rash of recent planting from 2016.
Carricante, the principal variety in Etna Bianco, which must include 60% or 80% in Superiore versions, ripens slowly retaining its natural high acidity. It thrives in volcanic vineyards particularly at very high altitude. Is north Etna a suitable place to make terroir-driven white wine or is it more of a reaction to the global thirst for fine white wine?
After visiting six producers in north Etna in the municipalities of Castiglione di Sicilia and Randazzo, I tasted 40 Etna Bianco samples at Sicily’s en primeur event in the hope of finding an identity to distinguish north Etna Carricante from the expressions of vineyards on the east and west faces of the volcano where the conditions are different.
Tenuta di Fessina: A lesson in Carricante
I paid a visit to Tenuta di Fessina which has three estates, one on each face of Etna. The north side of Etna is cooler than the west face and there is a significant drop in temperature at night. “Rovittello is very cold and rigid,” says owner and winemaker Jacopo Maniaci. “The north is enclosed by the volcano and the Nebrodi and the climate can be austere.”
The east side is the coolest. It faces
This Article was originally published on World of Fine Wine
