Tasting Notes: The vineyards of Serra Della Contessa are known for its high altitude (900 meters) and generous exposure to the sun. It is generally less rainy than other slopes of Etna and has considerable temperature swings. This produces a wine that on the palate is quite silky and round but then leads into a pronounced tannin and structure with the potential to age for a few years. The nose is aromatic but a little more restrained and refined than other Contradas; dark cherry, dried strawberry, black tea with a clean core of stone minerals. As the wine opens, some tarragon and fennel come into the mix.
Estate History: Salvino and Antonio Benanti have 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.
