Sicily Annual Report: Volcanic Energy, Lunar Landscapes and Otherworldly Wines

Walking through the fine, dusty sand in the vineyard of Contrada Pianodario on the northern slope of Mount Etna felt like what the first steps on the moon must have been like for the Apollo 11 crew. The soils contained an element of the unknown: what sort of vines could possibly take root in such an ashen, alien land? How does anything actually even grow here aside from olives and vines? (Plenty, it turns out – fantastic pistachios to lemons and giant onions).

Although we had not emerged from a compact space capsule but a van built to tackle Sicily’s rocky and gravel-covered tracks, the effect was the same: We had arrived at Ground Zero of a seemingly extraplanetary wonder you can’t describe until you see it and absorb it for yourself – Sicily’s winescape in all its glory. It was a fitting setting for what is currently being produced from the volcanic region, except that the loose soil seemed like an oenological false flag. The wines that spring from here are tight and focused, with an often beautiful mineral edge that belies the harsh landscape.

And while Etna is leading the charge for gaining greater recognition for Sicilian wines with some of its otherworldly offerings, James has noticed a real step up in quality winemaking overall from the southern Italian island. He first came to the island in 1983 and has returned frequently and tasted Sicilian wines, and seen their progress, over the years. The overdone and stylized offerings of the 1990s and early 2000s have given way to wines with outstanding energy and character. From pure-fruited nero d’avola-based reds to layered, complex whites from grillo and structured, tense nerello mascalese as well as mineral carricante, today’s wines all show greater distinctiveness from the regions that birthed them, such as Noto and Vittoria.

James Suckling, Associate Editor Nathan Slone and I took the plunge into Sicily’s diverse offering of terroir-driven wines, speaking in person to more than 20 Sicilian producers and uncorking over 500 bottles. Our top six wines this year were all from Etna, despite Etna DOC wines representing just a third of our tastings. Clearly the buzz around these volcanic wines isn’t just hot air.

Most of the highest-scoring wines we tasted were single contrada bottlings, pioneered in the region by Marco de Grazia of Tenuta delle Terre Nere in 2002. These are made from one of 133 named and registered sites, much like the Premier and Grand Cru system in Burgundy. Many of the most sought-after contradas are from the northern slopes, such as San Lorenzo, Calderara Sottana, Santo Spirito, Muganazzi, Guardiola and Feudo di Mezzo, each with its own distinct soils and microclimates, parcelled out between a handful of producers.

Two of the top wines were specific-parcel bottlings from Tenuta delle Terre Nere. Their Etna Rosso Prephylloxera La Vigna di Don Peppino 2020 is made from ungrafted nerello mascalese vines of at least 140 years old from the four-hectare Calderara Sottana vineyard. It is a tense, complex and intense red that needs a few years to open up.

“The nature in Calderara is unique,” de Grazia told us. “The soils are all stone, all rocky. Wines here have greater structure, a greater skeleton.”

The Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso Dagala di Bocca d’Orzo Monopole 2020 is an even smaller production of a single plot within Bocca d’Orzo surrounded by cooled lava from Etna’s eruption in 1981. “Dagala” means “Clos” in the Sicilian dialect, as de Grazia explained. The wine is beautifully perfumed yet nuanced, its ripe fruit combined with iron and wild herb notes and all wrapped up in silky tannins.

Producers disagreed about the 2020 vintage on Etna: some thought it a difficult year because of drought during much of the growing season, while others told us that it was balanced, with just enough rain. Many agreed on 2019, however, as being a stellar year, with an easy ripening period and not too much or too little rain.

The Girolamo Russo Etna Rosso San Lorenzo Piano delle Colombe 2019 was one of our top five wines. It’s another single-parcel bottling, from Contrada San Lorenzo, with a perfumed, floral character alongside the ripe red berry fruit notes characteristic of Girolamo Russo’s wines. Its energy and length also impress.

“I prefer 2019 over 2020, it’s more structured while 2020 is very fresh and pleasant,” said Giuseppe Russo, owner of Girolamo Russo. “2019 was a warm vintage so [the wines] have a complexity and rich tannins. For me it is important to have ripe maturation, especially in old vines.”

It’s difficult to correlate harvest times with freshness and style for Etna reds. Many producers we spoke prefer to wait as long as possible, usually until the end of October, to harvest nerello mascalese. This can be up to two months later than the harvest in other parts of the island. The high-altitude vines of Etna have a special growing season.

“It depends on the vintage and risk of autumn rain to have the possibility to wait,” explained Giulio Bruni, estate manager of Tasca d’Almerita. “We harvest late to give the tannins time to ripen.” And yet Tasca d’Almerita’s Tenuta Tascante 2019 reds, from contradas Pianodario, Rampante and Schiaranuova, display wonderful freshness and red fruit character, all with silky tannins.

READ MORE: OUR TOP 100 WINES OF 2021

Further south, nerello mascalese is harvested up to one month earlier, like those on the red, iron-rich sandy soils of Contrada Monte Serra on the southeastern slope. We retasted the Benanti Etna Rosso Contrada Monte Serra 2019, the highest-scoring among a five-vintage vertical from 2016 to 2020. It showed plenty of structure alongside ripe fruit, cedar and mineral ash notes.

Will there be a formal hierarchy of Grand Cru-equivalent recognition, or the creation of a DOCG? There are at least discussions of the latter within the growers association of Etna, known as the Consorzio Tutela Vini Etna. Several top producers are in favor, but there is still opposition, according to those we spoke to.

The only non-contrada wine in our top five Etna wines at 97 points was the Terre Siciliane Munjebel 2020 from the popular natural winemaker Frank Cornelissen, made from nerello mascalese grapes selected from northern Etna contradas. This is a low-sulfur red that displays so much depth and complexity, with both energy and softness, and fresh herb character combined with the red fruit. Cornelissen's single-contrada wines are only produced in exceptional vintages. He makes all his wines without using herbicides, pesticides or any other chemicals.

And while the number of wineries in Etna is growing once again, the region is still experiencing growing pains.

“I see the same 10, maximum 12 names from Etna on top wine lists,” said Agatino Failla, the estate manager of Benanti. “The rest don’t have their own cellars and warehouses with temperature control, they focus on viticulture only. It’s a trend to follow, but Etna itself is not a trend, it’s a fact. And the condition of the market will determine what will survive.”

Paolo Caciorgna of Pietro Caciorgna believes that wineries have come a long way in the last 10 years, especially with temperature control.

“Before, so many people in Etna didn’t have space to age the wines. I think now if we have more and better cellars, we can produce a consistent quality of wine,” Caciorgna said. His Etna Rosso Guardoilvento 2020 was one of our top 15 Sicilian wines, displaying rich red and dark fruit, held in check by firm, tense tannins and savory sage and olive notes.

TENUTA DELLE TERRE'S MARCO DE GRAZIA ON THE 2020 & 2021 VINTAGES

DONNAFUGATA’S ANTONIO RALLO DISCUSSES THEIR UNIQUE TERRACING SYSTEM ON PANTELLERIA

ELEGANCE FROM NERO D'AVOLA

Outside of Etna, we were impressed with wines made from nero d’avola, perhaps Sicily’s most important black grape. The Donnafugata Terre Siciliane Mille e Una Notte 2018, which was also among our top 15 wines, is an example. It’s made from a blend of majority nero d’avola, planted in the northwestern region of Contessa Entellina. Its depth of fruit, combined with freshness and salty, spicy hints, was representative of a whole new style of red wine across the island.

“We have made huge progress with nero d'avola,” said consulting oenologist Carlo Ferrini, who makes wines from the north of Italy down to Sicily and Etna. “In the past, Sicilians wanted to make wines as full and structured as possible. In the last few years, you are starting to see elegant nero d'avola.”

Ferrini believes that there has not yet been enough research on clonal selections, like there have been for nebbiolo, sangiovese and international varieties, but, he added, “I think we are at the start of something great.”

The idea of single vineyards is also gaining attention outside of Etna.

“On Etna they talk about contradas, but in 2000 we started a contrada idea here with four single crus, which was completely mad at that time,” said Matteo Catania, director of Gulfi. Our top pick is from their Maccari vineyard: both the Gulfi Terre Siciliane NeroMàccarj 2017 and 2018 were delicious, fresh and elegant expressions of the variety.

Other producers are experimenting with single-vineyard wines. For example, we tasted a small production of a 2017 single-vineyard nero d’avola from Feudo Maccari, located in the south between Noto and Pachino. These may prove to be the basis for a whole new concept similar to Etna’s and Barolo’s single-vineyard wines.

“It adapts to different zones, but here I think the terroir is top for nero d’avola,” said Antonio Moretti, the owner of Feudo Maccari. “It has calcareous soils, which is fantastic, and is just two kilometers from the ocean, so you get the ocean aromas and freshness, and the nights are cool.”

We tasted some excellent frappato, both in purity and blended with nero d’avola, as well as a fantastic cabernet sauvignon (the Tenuta Regaleali Vigna San Francesco 2019) but found that nero d’avola was unique in expressing the energy of the island, particularly compared with international varietals like earlier-ripening syrah, of which we tasted over a dozen.

We tried some great white wines too, mostly carricante from Etna. The best examples exhibit tension, minerality and vibrant acidity, and are almost as structured as the Etna reds. Our top white was the Benanti Etna Bianco Superiore Pietra Marina 2017, but we were also impressed by the Pietra Marina 2012 in a vertical at the winery. It showed intensely flavorful and complex savory notes.

The Pietradolce Terre Siciliane Sant' Andrea 2016, which we tasted at Pietradolce’s modern, artistic winery, was also impressive. It’s made from a selection of hundred-year-old carricante vines within the Archineri vineyard, with 10 months of skin contact, and shows a fascinating tannin structure and complex aromas of dried lemon, pine needle and light toffee.

“The evolution of carricante is completely different to what you have in a young vintage,” said Michele Faro, the owner of Pietradolce. “There’s still a lot to discover about carricante on Mount Etna.”

There is potential for the grape outside of Etna, too. We tasted the Gulfi Carricante Terre Siciliane Carjcanti 2005 as well as recent vintages from carricante planted in the central Sicily commune of Chiaramonte Gulfi. It showed complex and delicious notes of Asian pear, chive and dried lily.

“Riesling and carricante … share some DNA,” said Catania, of Gulfi. “When carricante gets older, it changes completely: it is dry, sharp like a blade, with some glycerin fatness and a long finish. It’s a funny wine for blind tasting.”

Planeta Winery has taken this similarity further, experimenting with riesling in Etna. In fact, they add 10 percent riesling into their Carricante Sicilia Eruzione 1614, such as the 2019 in this report, as well as making a separate Riesling Terre Sicilia Eruzione 1614 2020.

“Carricante and riesling go well together,” said Santi Planeta, a co-owner of Planeta. “They share the same acidity, and carricante with age becomes like riesling. It doesn’t have the same aromatic complexity at first.”

THE ORGANICS EVOLUTION

More than a hundred of the wines we rated for this report are made from organically grown grapes. Organic and biodynamic viticulture are gaining ground in Sicily with more producers aiming to make wines that are a true reflection of the land. And with the dry, warm climate, Sicily is best placed to lead the way forward in sustainable and organic viticulture, with fewer extremes than the mainland in an uncertain climate era.

“Sicily should be the leading region for organic farming,” said Arianna Occhipinti of the eponymous winery based in Vittoria. “It’s dry, with plenty of breeze. Organic is increasing every year.”

We also spoke to and tasted the wines of Nicolo Grippaldi, the only producer in the central commune of Enna. He planted just over a hectare each of nero d’avola and nerello mascalese in 2015 and farms and produces biodynamic wines with intense passion. His pure nero d’avola, the Nicolò Grippaldi Nero d'Avola Sicilia Salvatore Grippaldi 2020, is full-bodied yet nuanced and light-footed, with fascinating notes of oolong and rooibos along with red fruit and flowers.

We tasted various verticals and we could see how the wines have changed from slightly overdone, even rustic reds and whites to much more refined, terroir-specific wines. But when it came to our vertical of Donnafugata’s Ben Rye Passito di Pantelleria back to 2002, tasted on-site on our visit to the island of Pantelleria itself, which is off the southwest coast of Sicily, the consistency and complexity in the wines were a delight.

“The result is pretty consistent here, even with different vintages,” said Antonio Rallo, who leads the winery with his sister, Josè Rallo. “Pantelleria, even Sicily, has a head start at how to cope with warm temperatures. We have fewer fluctuations than other regions because of the sea.”

But the spotlight for now is on Etna: it has helped create a name for Sicily in the last 20 years by focusing on indigenous grapes and creating distinguishable wines from the region rather than stylized wines. What region will be the next big thing after Etna remains undecided, but we see many possibilities from our tastings and visit this year.

– Claire Nesbitt, Associate Editor

_______________________

SEE MORE OF OUR ANNUAL REPORTS:

HUNGARY: LANDING ON A NEW PLANET OF WINE
SOUTH AFRICA: CHENIN AND CHARDONNAY LEAD A VARIETAL EVOLUTION
OREGON: EYE-OPENING CHARDS, IMPECCABLE PROVENANCE AND THE QUEST FOR ‘BREATHTAKING’ WINES