Carricante takes its name from carico, meaning 'charged, loaded, burdened' which refers to the abundant fruit on the vine. 100% Carricante from the northern slopes of Mount Etna, 800 metres above sea level.
The vines are bush trained and grown on sandy loam soil. Vinification and maturation are in stainless steel and the wine shows floral and lemon curd notes with pronounced minerality and unabashed acidity typical to Etna.
The 2017 Etna Bianco is a delicately perfumed and veiled expression of Carricante with soft mineral notes, white flower and easy peach or nectarine aromas. However, the true protagonist here are those carefully measured volcanic tones of ash and smoke. The bouquet on this vintage is slightly more neutral, but it will flesh out with a year or more of bottle age. Serve it with a chicken-and-herb couscous. Some 40,000 bottles were made.
Monica Larner, Oct 2019, The Wine Advocate, Drink 2019-2024