2024 Graci, Etna Bianco DOC, Passopisciaro, Mount Etna, Sicily.
The beautiful, pale gold and exotically layered Graci Etna Bianco, from the island of Sicily, is a blend of Carricante 85% and Catarratto 15% that perfect captures the terroir here on the north side, high up on the volcano with its cool intensity of structure, iron rich soil mineral, with smoky/flinty notes and layering of yellow peach, lemon/lime, dried pineapple, bitter almond, crystallized ginger, wet stone and delcate florals. This medium bodied white is absolutely a wine of place and marries the liquid mineral character of Mosel Riesling and the class and vinous quality of a cru Burgundy to just give reference points and couldn’t be from anywhere else. Graci’s vineyards, near Passopisciaro, sit at an altitude between 600 and 1,000 meters above sea level. Planting density ranges from 6,000 to 10,000 vines per hectare. Many of the vines are still on original rootstock, ungrafted, having never been affected by the phylloxera scourge thanks to the unique nature of the volcanic soils. The white comes from three main parcels, terraced on the old lava and sandy soils, including Contrada Arcurìa, Contrada Muganazzi and Contrada Santo Spirito in Passopisciaro, which is a municipality of Castiglione di Sicilia, on the cooler Northern slope of Mount Etna, which gives a fresh and chiseled detail to these wines. From the Etna Bianco, winemaker Alberto Graci does a soft whole cluster press, without temperature control and allows the juice to ferment naturally before aging in cement vats on lees for 8 months without disrupting the sediments until it is bottled. This wine is delicious, with raw authentic flavors, bone dry and shows complete transparency. I highly recommend the full range of wines here at Graci, with the Rosé (Rosato), the classic Etna Rosso, Nerello Mascalese and this Carricante led Etna Bianco being all fabulous efforts.
The Graci winery, as mentioned here in prior reviews, is led by Alberto Aiello Graci, who I met and tasted with earlier this year, and is situated again as noted, on the north slope of Mount Etna at Passopisciaro, Sicily, which is located in a historical area where viticulture dates back several thousand years. Their vineyards sit at an altitude between 600 and 1,000 meters above sea level on the volcanic soils, getting the cooling influences and the mineral intensity of tis unique terroir on Europe’s most active volcano. Graci is very passionate about his region and in his respect for local traditions as well as the distinct nature of each vintage and only cultivates traditional varieties indigenous to Mount Etna, Europe’s most active volcano. The red grapes here include Nerello Mascalese, the main focus of the winery, and Nerello Cappuccio, and white grapes, such as Carricante, that Graci believes is one of the world’s greatest white varietals, and Catarratto, seen together here. The cellar work here is clearly non Intervention of any kind, whenever possible, with Alberto seeking the most natural expressions as he can. Graci says, as noted before, that some of the vineyard sites are 1,000 meters high, or about 3,300 feet, which is the upward limit at which Nerello can ripen, or the cooler North side of the Volcano, and is Interspersed with olive and apple trees, as well as birds, bees and bugs, that fill the air with what he calls an industrious series of chirps and hums. This is a place, he continues, where it’s possible to have a balance between elegance and rusticity, which is a sensation that is hard to find anywhere place else in the world. Again thank you to Alberto Graci, for the time given me, in Chicago, and his importer, Massanois who has given me access to the whole collection of his wines to try this year. Again, this white exceeds expectations, and while I usually talk about the reds here, this Etna Bianco should not be overlooked and is sublime with a range of cuisine, especially sea food dishes.
($32 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive