“Le Vigne Niche Montalto” Bianco Etna DOC 2025

Tenuta delle Terre Nere | Sicily
Az. Agr. Tenuta delle Terre Nere | Contrada Calderara | IT 95036 Randazzo

19171025 · 0,75 l · 49,33 €/l · Price (DE) incl. VAT, excl. Shippingavailable immediately
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Marco de Grazia has been firmly established on the northern slope of Mount Etna for decades. But he did not stop there: over many years, he also explored the volcano's other slopes, bought grapes, produced wine for colleagues, measured altitudes, studied geological features and examined historical boundaries. At extreme altitudes on the southern flank, he was convinced he had found an area where Carricante thrives exceptionally well. For six years, he experimentally vinified grapes from there, convinced of their exceptional elegance, before he was fortunate enough to be offered a tiny, very old vineyard – precisely the one from which his favourite white grapes came. The constant fresh winds at 950 metres perfectly balance out the full south-facing aspect, says de Grazia himself. The first vintage was 2019, a gem, as he calls it.

The area is called Montalto, but is not officially a separate contrada. Two hectares in the municipality of Biancavilla, on the southern slope at an altitude of 900 to 950 metres, with vines aged between 60 and 90 years trained in the traditional Alberello style. The soil is brooding and volcanic, predominantly loose ash with small stones. Fermentation takes place at a low temperature in French oak barrels of 10 and 50 hectolitres, followed by ten months of malolactic fermentation and ageing in barriques, then eight months' bottle ageing.

A white wine from Mount Etna with lush softness, spicy and warm aromas, underpinned by a full alcoholic vigour and a balanced freshness that arises from the interplay of full midday sun and extreme altitude. A Carricante from a place that de Grazia himself describes as his favourite discovery outside his northern homeland. SUPERIORE.DE