ERUZIONE 1614 CARRICANTE, SICILIA DOC

Planeta encompasses six distinct wine estates across Sicily, each one inspired and constructed in harmony with its surroundings and dedicated to its terroir. 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.

In 2012, with the goal of furthering its terroir-based approach, Planeta hired French consultants Florent Dumeau and Xaviér Choné. Both graduates of the Bordeaux school of enology, Florent and Xavier consider themselves terroir-oriented enologists, a statement that fits perfectly with Planeta’s philosophy: expressing the differences of the various terroirs throughout Sicily.

All of the company’s activities have a single theme; environmental sustainability. Through the use of solar panels and biomass production, principally pruning residues to produce energy, reusing and recycling of all materials used in the production cycle, and the exclusive use of recycled paper for packing and printed materials. Because the land is a collective benefit, Planeta considers it is a duty to make every effort in preserving it. Harvest occured for the Carricante between October 15th and 25th. For the Riesling, on October 5th.

The grapes are hand-picked into crates and refrigerated at 46°F before being hand-selected. After light crushing and destemming, the grapes are soft pressed. The decanted must is racked and inoculated with yeasts.
It is fermented for 20 days at 59°F. The wine remains on the lees until February with continuous stirring and is then bottled.

In this case, the pale golden colour
does not anticipate the explosion of aromas of ripe fruit and the aromatic content of white flowers which
magically transport the taster to the slopes of Etna. On the palate as well the wine manages to combine softness and strength with a drinkable richness, with fruit flavours of lemon peel and green apple linked to an endearing mineral power which prolongs the finish. An extraordinary companion for dishes based on fish of a certain oiliness and thus ideal for any gastronomic experience encountered by the sea.