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SKU 1010877
$46.94/bottle
Out of stock
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The first of the two white wines, the 2024 Versante Nord is a blend of varieties sourced from six different vineyards at varying altitudes from the north side of the valley, which receives more sunlight during the day. This wine offers a wealth of power, with notes of salted pineapples, fresh sage, smoky earth, and saline. It’s bright with acidity, salinity, and a light wild side, though very well-managed. It had been bottled just three weeks earlier, so this tasting was a preview prior to its release. Drink over the coming 8-10 years.
Carricante is a white grape variety indigenous to Sicily, particularly thriving on the volcanic slopes of Mount Etna. This ancient grape has been cultivated for centuries, known for producing wines with remarkable freshness and minerality. Carricante wines often exhibit citrusy aromas, such as lemon and orange blossom, along with apple and herbal notes, underpinned by a distinctive saline quality. The high altitude and volcanic soils of Mount Etna impart a unique terroir, contributing to the wine’s crisp acidity and longevity. What makes Carricante unique is its ability to retain acidity even in the hot Sicilian climate, resulting in vibrant, age-worthy wines. Often blended with other local varieties like Catarratto, Carricante shines as a pure varietal expression, capturing the essence of its volcanic origin and offering wine enthusiasts a taste of Sicily’s diverse and rich wine heritage.
Country
Italy
There are few countries in the world with a viticultural history as long or as illustrious as that claimed by Italy. Grapes were first being grown and cultivated on Italian soil several thousand years ago by the Greeks and the Pheonicians, who named Italy 'Oenotria' – the land of wines – so impressed were they with the climate and the suitability of the soil for wine production. Of course, it was the rise of the Roman Empire which had the most lasting influence on wine production in Italy, and their influence can still be felt today, as much of the riches of the empire came about through their enthusiasm for producing wines and exporting it to neighbouring countries. Since those times, a vast amount of Italian land has remained primarily for vine cultivation, and thousands of wineries can be found throughout the entire length and breadth of this beautiful country, drenched in Mediterranean sunshine and benefiting from the excellent fertile soils found there. Italy remains very much a 'land of wines', and one could not imagine this country, its landscape and culture, without it.
Region
Sicily
The beautiful island of Sicily has been growing grapevines and producing wines for thousands of years, ever since the ancient Greeks first landed on its golden shores and noticed the island's true potential as a haven for quality grapes. Today, the island is one of Italy's primary wine regions, and even though over eighty percent of Sicily's grapevines are used for the production of sweet fortified wines, the remaining wineries making other wine styles are renowned around the world for their quality and character. Indeed, Sicilian wineries are famed for their ability to capture something of the sun-drenched region in their wines, and the vines they cultivate benefit enormously from the almost constant sunshine and the incredibly fertile volcanic soils which typify the island.
VM93pts
Vinous Media
The first of the two white wines, the 2024 Versante Nord is a blend of varieties sourced from six different vineyards at varying altitudes from the north side of the valley, which receives more sunlight during the day. This wine offers a wealth of power, with notes of salted pineapples, fresh sage, smoky earth, and saline. It’s bright with acidity, salinity, and a light wild side, though very well-managed. It had been bottled just three weeks earlier, so this tasting was a preview prior to its release. Drink over the coming 8-10 years.
Winery Notes
50% Minnella/50% Carricante-Catarratto-Grecanico-Inzolia-other. Eduardo organically farms parcels totalling 3.5 hectares on the north face or versante nord of Mt. Etna. Those parcels are scattered amongst 6 different contrade or districts (Pietramarina, Allegracore, Sciaranuova, Friera, Santo Spirito and Marchesa). The soils are sandy volcanic ash and the elevation ranges from 550 to 850 meters. Averaging over 50 years old, the vines are generally trained in alberello, either as individual bushes or on wires depending on the parcel; the varieties are generally interplanted (with about 10-15% of the vines being white grapes separated out for this bottling). The bunches are hand-harvested, destemmed, co-fermented spontaneously with native yeasts and without sulfur in concrete tank without temperature control. Maceration lasts about 5 days. The wine is aged in cement vat for 8 months. It is bottled without fining or filtration and with a tiny amount of sulfur.
