Etna Bianco DOC
Grapes Carricante (70%) Catarratto (30%)

A wine with strength and presence, a firm, mineral core, intense and lithe with fresh pea, lime, some white peach and apricot. The evolution of this wine is subtle, there is nothing superfluous, every element is tightly woven through the sinew. It is a world class white.

Link to Palmento Costanzo producer page.

This vineyard is north facing at an altitude of between 700-750m. Soils are seventy percent black with brown volcanic sands, rich in organic matter. The vines are traditionally trained using a goblet (bush) system where each vine is supported with a chestnut pole when needed. Between thirty and one hundred years old they only yield around seven hundred grams of fruit per plant.
The harvest must be manual due to the steep terrain and the grapes are selected both in the vineyard and then on a sorting table before pressing. Fermentation is in temperature controlled steel tanks at eighteen degrees. There is no period of maceration and the fermented wine is partially taken through a malolactic conversion. It is then aged in steel tanks for six months and kept for at least six months in bottle before it is released.
There are some extremely famous wines from this part of Mt. Etna, most of which are red. The vineyards however are dominated by the white grape, Carricante, whose style and quality here is unparalleled.