My first exposure to the white wines of Sicily this past year were two IGT Sicilia from the southeast of Sicily in the region around Ragusa - COS Rami, a blend of Inzolia and Grecanico, which was unimpressive, and Gulfi Carjcante, a blend of Carricante and Albanello, which was most impressive in its richness and complexity. Carricante is believed to be indigenous to Sicily and today can mainly be found cultivated on the slopes of Mt. Etna in eastern Sicily. The Carricante vines used to produce the Gulfi wine were grafted over a decade ago from the best Carricante vines growing on the slopes of Mount Etna. Since the Gulfi wine was given the name Carjcante, ‘Carricante’ in the local Sicilian dialect, I was under the impression that it was the grape providing most of the substance to the blend. As it turns out, this isn’t necessarily the case, but Carricante is considered the more important of the two grapes. As a matter of fact the Etna DOC region requires Etna Bianco to have at least 60% Carricante and Etna Bianco Superiore at least 80% - so Carricante was added to my list.
Some experts believe that the Carricante grape was cultivated as far back as the 9th century B.C. Regardless, of the ancient history of the grape, due to the elevation and volcanic nature of the soil many of the vines on Mt. Etna, never suffer from the outbreaks that devastated the vineyards of France, Spain and Italy over the last 100-plus years, making them some of the oldest in Europe. The Carricante grape is known for its high acidity, which gives it a long aging potential. Azienda Vinicola Benanti produces two DOC Etna Bianco wines, both from 100% Carricante grapes, Biancodicaselle Etna DOC made from grapes planted on the eastern and Southern slopes of Etna and bottle aged two months, and Pietramarina Etna DOC Superiore from grapes planted on the eastern slope and bottle aged 10 to 12 months. The Biancodicaselle was the only one available and it was priced at $18 - the Pietramarina usually runs around $35.
Having forgotten that the Gulfi was a blend, I was expecting a rich, complex and weighty wine when I opened the Biancodicaselle, and the very shy nose and volcanic wave of acidity made me wonder if I had something similar to ‘Pigato’ on my hands – 'lean' city, all acid and minerals without much else. Fortunately, this wasn’t the case, and both the nose and the palate of the wine eventually opened nicely. Green apple and citrus fruit were most prominent on the nose, while crisp, tart apple – maybe Pink Lady - and citrus enveloped a complex core of slate and bitter almond with a touch of richness that gave the wine more weight than it appeared to have when it was just opened. It had a nice slow finish of citrus acidity, citrus peel and a hint of salt on the lips. This Carricante is definitely a wine for seafood, especially simply prepared, robustly flavored shellfish such as grilled scampi or lobster - I think it would also do nicely with a Crudo given that it is much more substantial than most whites with this much acidity. I suspect that as it ages its richness will become even more prominent as the complex core develops further. I should also like to try it with rich, creamy mold-ripened sheep and goat cheeses. Personally, I don’t get overly excited by high acid wines, but this one seems to have potential, so I would like to try it again six to eight months from now, and it has me wondering about its Etna DOC Superiore sister Pietramarina.
PS: I have created a summary chart of the small whites I’ve tasted and a photo album of the labels for those who are interested.
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