Tenuta di Fessina

On Mount Etna, the morning light first strikes the eastern flank, and in Milo the vines grow directly towards it. The name "Erse" is reminiscent of the Greek goddess of dew; the estate associates it with the sunrise. Silvia Maestrelli, who sadly passed away far too young, founded Tenuta di Fessina in 2007 in northern Rovittello, yet this white wine comes from the east. On Mount Etna, "Superiore" is not a stage of maturation, but a designation of origin: The appellation reserves this designation for white wines made from grapes grown in the small municipality of Milo, with at least 80% Carricante. Old vines grow there on sandy lava soil mixed with pumice and ash. Fermentation takes place under temperature control in stainless-steel tanks, after which the wine is left to rest in the bottle.

One hectare, bordered by two semi-circular lava flows: this wine has no more space than this, and 5,000 bottles are produced from it. The location is Rovittello; the vineyard lies at an altitude of 700 metres, facing north-east, and the soil is fine and deep, consisting of pumice and weathered clay. Silvia Maestrelli arrived on Mount Etna in 2006; following lengthy negotiations with the previous owners, Tenuta di Fessina was established in 2007, and in the same year the vines for this hectare were planted – Nerello Cappuccio and Nerello Mascalese, predominantly trained as bush vines. After destemming and gentle crushing between rollers, the grapes are left to macerate on their skins for twelve hours at a cool temperature; fermentation takes place in stainless-steel tanks.

On Mount Etna, red and white grape varieties often ripened in the same vineyard and were brought to the cellar together, and this wine is a reminder of that: Nerello Mascalese forms the core of the blend, complemented by Nerello Cappuccio and a small proportion of Minnella and Carricante. The bush-trained vines have been growing in Rovittello since 1950, at an altitude of 700 metres and facing north-east. The estate regards this Rosso as a 'morning wine', as the vineyard catches the morning sun whilst remaining sheltered from the afternoon heat: fruit-forward, fresh and ready to drink straight away. The soil is brooding, consisting of pumice and fine clay.

High up on the southern slopes of Mount Etna, where the Contrada Manzuedda in Biancavilla rises towards the sky at an altitude of 900 metres, lies an extraordinary vineyard, as old as the dreams that gave rise to it. Here, between the eternal snow of the peaks and the flames of the volcano, where the first Carricante vines took root in the volcanic soil in 1950, A' Puddara, "the hen", is born. This is what the Sicilians call the Pleiades in their dialect – those seven sisters in the night sky who, in summer, shine from the sea above the volcanic peak. Silvia Maestrelli, Fessina's visionary pioneer who sadly passed away far too soon, dedicated this wine to the starry skies of her Sicilian nights – a fitting tribute to this island of dreams and fire.

In the upper areas of the historic Contrada Rovittello – at an altitude of around 700 metres, on volcanic rock with a high basalt content – the old Nerello Mascalese vines of Il Musmeci take root. Some of them are even over 100 years old, their roots penetrating deep into the barren, mineral-rich soil. The north-eastern flank of Mount Etna provides a cool microclimate with a strong contrast between day and night – decisive for the aromatic precision. The name Il Musmeci is a tribute to the former owner of the parcel, Cav. Santi Musmeci, whose respect for terroir and tradition became the legacy of this wine.

The estate has dedicated its single-vineyard wine made from Nerello Mascalese to the Musmeci family, particularly Ignazio Musmeci, who tended the vines at Rovittello for many years. Silvia Maestrelli, who sadly passed away far too young, founded Tenuta di Fessina in 2007, building her business around an old vineyard of this variety, which she acquired after lengthy negotiations with the previous owners. The suffix in the name takes us even further back, to the time before the phylloxera plague that once ravaged Europe's vineyards. Vines from that era are grown on their own roots, without the American rootstock onto which vines have been grafted almost everywhere since then, and are regarded as a mark of quality – and not just on Mount Etna.

White wines from Etna are always special and are in a league of their own due to the generally very old vines, the extreme altitude and the usually minimal yield per hectare. The area around the small town of Milo is the only vineyard site on Etna where an Etna Bianco can be bottled as Superiore - and for good reason: only Carricante can be planted on the steep vineyard, which consists of dozens of small terraces. When the origin of the Carricante grapes is the small parcel (Contrada) Caselle with mostly 100-year-old ungrafted bush vines (Alberelli), even connoisseurs can be excited. The soil, which was formed by centuries of volcanic activity, has numerous layers of minerals and salts, pumice, lapilli, fine and light ash. This extremely rare terroir is particularly fertile and produces late-ripening, healthy, fresh and very flavourful grapes despite the generally high thermal excesses during the summer. Less than 1,000 bottles of this exceptional wine are produced in good years, so you can imagine that we consider ourselves lucky to be able to offer a few cases of this rare wine.

Standing on one's own two feet is regarded as a sign of maturity. The bush vines at the Caselle vineyard have been doing just that for a long human lifetime – quite literally: they are ungrafted, never having been grafted, as was common practice everywhere before the phylloxera plague and is now a rarity. Here, 100% Carricante is grown at 950 metres near Milo on the eastern slope of Mount Etna. The soil is fertile, with layers of minerals and salts, pumice, lapilli and fine, light ash. The estate attributes the wine's high acidity to these soils, and its salinity to the proximity of the Ionian Sea. It covers just half a hectare, yielding around 650 bottles a year.

In the upper areas of the historic Contrada Rovittello – at an altitude of around 700 metres, on volcanic rock with a high basalt content – the old Nerello Mascalese vines of Il Musmeci take root. Some of them are even over 100 years old, their roots penetrating deep into the barren, mineral-rich soil. The north-eastern flank of Mount Etna provides a cool microclimate with a strong contrast between day and night – decisive for the aromatic precision. The name Il Musmeci is a tribute to the former owner of the parcel, Cav. Santi Musmeci, whose respect for terroir and tradition became the legacy of this wine.