2023 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Bianco Sicily, Italy

I first made this wine in 2005. I wanted to remove that more or less 5% of white grapes that the local vignerons used to mingle with their red ones, in order to make my Etna Rosso from red grapes alone. The white grapes were a mumbo-jumbo of local varieties: Carricante, Catarratto, Grecanico, Inzolia and Minnella. So that’s what my Etna Bianco was: a field blend of all the above, with Carricante dominating the blend with roughly 65%. And that’s what it still is. All from old vines. And, somehow, it works. A perfectly lovely wine. With the effortless uplift of a dancer, it allows me to let it go freely through life, malo included, without it ever losing its bright demeanor and lively step. Deviously drinkable, still it always clings, leaving one wondering how it delights and where do the goodies come from. In aging, the noblesse of the Etna and its remarkable terroir emerge. And the loveliness turns thoughtful and deepens, still graceful, never redundant. Fish, meat or fowl, all are fine, if very gently cooked. It loves seafood, particularly over pasta: after all, it is Sicilian.