Planeta Eruzione 1614 Carricante 2018
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Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesSlightly evolved and showing a deep sense of complexity and textural richness, the Planeta 2018 Sicilia Carricante Eruzione 1614 is yet another reason to love Etna's terrific Carricante grape. (There's also a 10% touch of Riesling in this edition of 62,000 bottles.) That extra time in bottle, tasted now three years after the harvest, produces dusty mineral definition and ashy volcanic tones. The wine is linear and precise with more austerity that raises the bar in terms of its food-pairing potential. A beautiful seafood platter with grilled prawns might do the trick.
Decidedly more savory than sweet and flinty as well, the 2018 Carricante Eruzione 1614 sends up a stunning bouquet of dried apricots, grilled orange and hints of white pepper. Its silky and pliant textures quickly gain a more tactile feel, as a mix of bright acids, saline-minerals, tart orchard fruits and sour citrus cascades across the palate. There are depths unseen here, as the 2018 displays a youthful density while remaining lifted, balanced and simply tempting the imagination as to what’s to come with further cellaring. A beautiful Etna Carricante with a 10% addition of Riesling that shows tremendous tension. Well done.
This wine tastes like salted lemon rock candy, with a hard mineral core and a dense texture balanced by tangy citrus tones. It combines high-elevation carricante, grown at over 2,800 feet on the slopes of Mt. Etna, with ten percent of riesling, all vinified in stainless steel to preserve the fresh aromas and high-toned, tart fruit flavors that make this a perfect partner for pan-fried sole in a lemon butter sauce.
Lemon-rind, pear and green-apple aromas follow through to a full body with a round, creamy palate of ripe and dried fruit that comes across mostly tropical. Creamy texture. Really tangy.
“It is a new way of thinking about the journey through Sicily; after Menfi, Vittoria, then Noto, then Etna, then Milazzo. Not a random route, but one strongly linked to the variety of countryside, to the winds, to the character of the people and thus of their wine…” –Diego Planeta
Planeta encompasses six distinct wine estates across Sicily, each one inspired and constructed in harmony with its surroundings and dedicated to its terroir.
For five centuries and seventeen generations, the Planeta family has been involved in the Sicilian agricultural sector. Their work on the island has contributed to the revitalization of Sicilian winemaking, now one of the most dynamic and sought-after viticultural regions in the world. Planeta’s journey begins at Sambuca di Sicilia, on the estate owned by the family since the 1600s. Here on Italy's most enchanting island, three enthusiastic young Sicilians, Alessio, Francesca and Santi Planeta, under the guidance of Diego Planeta, began their winemaking venture in the mid-1980s. Subsequent years were spent matching the extraordinarily diverse Sicilian soils with both indigenous and international varieties. Years of careful research paid off when the Planeta wines were met with immediate critical acclaim upon introduction in the U.S. in the late 1990s.
Planeta’s six boutique wineries include: Ulmo at Sambuca di Sicilia, Dispensa at Menfi, Dorilli at Vittoria, Buonivini at Noto, Sciara Nuova on Etna at Castiglione di Sicilia, and the newest addition, La Baronia at Capo Milazzo. Each vineyard site is carefully cultivated with grapes that best compliment the local terroir.
Santi, daughter of Diego Planeta, leads the international marketing and sales component of the wineries. Alessio, the head winemaker and viticulturist since 1996, has been instrumental in identifying the best grape varieties for the diverse Sicilian soils. Santi leads as head of sales for the European market and spearheads the marketing initiatives for the wineries. Alessio, Francesca and Santi Planeta established the company and their comprehensive winemaking approach, but the whole family is with them, rooted in Sicilian agriculture for generations. They are a family and a company of ambitious aims, following strict principles of quality, a rigorous respect for the environment and social responsibility.
A large, geographically and climatically diverse island, just off the toe of Italy, Sicily has long been recognized for its fortified Marsala wines. But it is also a wonderful source of diverse, high quality red and white wines. Steadily increasing in popularity over the past few decades, Italy’s fourth largest wine-producing region is finally receiving the accolades it deserves and shining in today's global market.
Though most think of the climate here as simply hot and dry, variations on this sun-drenched island range from cool Mediterranean along the coastlines to more extreme in its inland zones. Of particular note are the various microclimates of Europe's largest volcano, Mount Etna, where vineyards grow on drastically steep hillsides and varying aspects to the Ionian Sea. The more noteworthy red and white Sicilian wines that come from the volcanic soils of Mount Etna include Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio (reds) and Carricante (whites). All share a racy streak of minerality and, at their best, bear resemblance to their respective red and white Burgundies.
Nero d’Avola is the most widely planted red variety, and is great either as single varietal bottling or in blends with other indigenous varieties or even with international ones. For example, Nero d'Avola is blended with the lighter and floral, Frappato grape, to create the elegant, Cerasuolo di Vittoria, one of the more traditional and respected Sicilian wines of the island.
Grillo and Inzolia, the grapes of Marsala, are also used to produce aromatic, crisp dry Sicilian white. Pantelleria, a subtropical island belonging to the province of Sicily, specializes in Moscato di Pantelleria, made from the variety locally known as Zibibbo.
Carricante has grown on the slopes of Sicily’s Mt. Etna for the last thousand years. It is the dominant grape in Etna Bianco DOC blends, with Catarratto as a possible minor blending partner. The best examples come from volcanic soils at higher altitudes where a large diurnal temperature shift allows slow and steady ripening and the development of Carricante’s naturally high acidity. Somm Secret—A vine variety capable of high yields if not tended to properly, Carricante gets its name from, carica, the Italian word for “load.”