LA SEGRETA IL ROSSO, SICILIA DOC
Planeta
APPELLATION
Sicilia (Menfi D.O.C.)
GRAPE VARIETIES
50% Nero d'Avola, 25% Merlot, 20% Syrah, 5% Cabernet Franc
WINEMAKERS
Patricia Toth
TECHNICAL DATA
Acidity
3.45 g/L
Alcohol
13.0%
92POINTS
91POINTS


Planeta’s journey began at Sambuca di Sicilia, on the estate owned by the family since the 1600s. Here 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. Planeta today, encompasses six distinct wine estates in five regions across Sicily; 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.
La Segreta takes its name from the woods which surround our Ulmo vineyard. This young fresh wine principally produced from Nero d’Avola grapes, flagship of Sicilian wine, gains its personality and style with the addition of some international grapes. All the vines are knowledgeably cultivated in vineyards owned by Planeta. La Segreta is a versatile companion for daily drinking, suitable for many different occasions. It is a perfect approach to Sicilian wine with its excellent relationship between price and quality, guaranteed by Planeta’s careful input from vine to wine.
Our story and our journey began at Ulmo. In the mid-1980’s we planted our first vines around the 16th century family farmhouse. We built our first winery in 1995 on the banks of the Lake Arancio and its nearby woods. Hidden within the Menfi hills and with 160 hectares of vineyard, the Dispensa estate is the beating heart of all our activities.
From the sea to the hills, up to an altitude of 400 metres, the Menfi territory holds the largest extent of our vineyards. We cultivate more than 250 hectares, and we make careful selections of our vines, both indigenous and international varieties, to the specifics of each terroir. Soils from Dispensa vineyards are moderately deep, with very few stones, some degree of lime and average fertility. Gurra terroir is divided into two micro zones, one of them a mixture of red sand with little gravel, ideal for Syrah; the other characterised by limestone soil with much chalk, enhancing still more the particular aromatic qualities of Fiano. Buonivini soils are very limey, abundant small stones; fine texture with pale chalky sections.
The harvest for the Merlot started on August 30th. The harvest for the Cabernet Franc, Syrah, and Nero d’Avola took place from September 8th–15th. The grapes are de-stemmed and crushed, then macerate on the skins for 7–14 days. After racking, the wine is kept in stainless steel vessels until bottling.
TASTING NOTESAn intensely vivid ruby colour. On the nose aromas of redcurrant and mulberry with a slightly spicy and minty finish. In the mouth the wine demonstrates its fine personality with flavours of ripe wild fruits, balanced by a very pleasant full and herbal taste. The tannins are soft and smooth conferring a very versatile character to this red wine.
For daily drinking, it is ideal with Mediterranean pasta dishes and light meals of meat, vegetables or oily fish.