Tasting the Soul of Sicily, In Two Wines

Photo by Joe Roberts

Things move a bit more on the rilassato (relaxed) side when you’re dealing with Sicily. And not just when it comes to wine, but when it comes to pretty much everything.

Which is the excuse that I’m employing to justify only now (a few long months later) getting around to finishing up my coverage from my last wine media tour of Italy’s largest island. While I don’t exactly miss the act of traveling itself during this bizarre time of being in shelter-in-place mode, I do pretty much always miss being in Sicily. The place is just magical (and the fact that some of my ancestors hail from there probably has something to do with my affinity for the place).

It’s in that spirit of wistful nostalgia that I offer up two distinctly and uniquely different - but also distinctly and uniquely Sicilian - wines of note, in the hopes that you might find yourselves able to sip them somehow. These are the types of wines that will do a nice job of easing the pain of not being able to currently put your feet on Sicily’s soils, as they admirably perform a function that only very good wines can do - transport you in spirit to a unique place and time.

Photo by Joe Roberts

2018 Gorghi Tondi ‘Kheire’ Grillo

Grillo, arguably Sicily’s most approachable wine grape, is a bit of a minor obsession at Gorghi Tondi winery. Led by fourth generation vintner sisters Clara and Annamaria Sala, this lovely spot in Mazara del Vallo uniquely sits in an officially protected natural region (the result of its three lakes being home to Emys trinacris, an endangered species of turtle endemic to the island). As such, its 1970s-era Grillo plantings are “stuck” in a quantity-over-quality, pergola-like tendone trellising system, making production of premium Grillo grapes a labor of love… with serious emphasis on the labor portion. Picking based on acidity levels to maximize the grape’s minerality potential, and performing near-constant labor on the vines so that they produce fewer, higher-quality grapes, Gorghi Tondi has its work cut out for it with respect to this wine.

While the “Kheire” name translates to “Welcome,” the older vines used to produce their grapes imbue this Grillo with a sense of seriousness. There’s a perfumed nose of white flowers and saline, along with a lovely, piquant, and refined citrus-peel-like palate, and a solid, nutty, fruity finish. But you can’t take the friendly out of Grillo, and so this white wine also sports abundant floral notes, and… yeah… welcoming flavors of peach, lemon zest, and exotic fruits.

Photo by Joe Roberts

2013 Baglio di Pianetto ‘Cembali’ Nero d’Avola

Renato De Bartoli left his family business to work on the winemaking at Baglio di Pianetto, a ruggedly beautiful 90-ish acres of rolling hills and high elevation (650 meters above sea level) vine plantings. The history of the place involves a literal and figurative marriage between Italy and France: the Count Paolo Marzotto (who’s Italian) and his wife, (who’s French), with the idea of combining French Chateau winemaking stylings to Sicily’s native grape varieties.

This reserve Nero d’Avola red (made from the grapes of 30-year old vines in the arborella training system) is a good representation of what Baglio di Pianetto is aiming for in its stylistic approach. Named after a tambourine (of which the sound of the winds whipping through the vines is reminiscent), this is a surprisingly sophisticated take on Nero d’Avola. Mineral, with dried herbs and tobacco leaf aromas, a panoply of red and black plummy fruit flavors, and layers of mint and cigar notes, it’s really hard not to like what this wine is offering. Juicy, powerful, gritty, structured and vivacious, there’s some very nice potential here. But it would be fairly difficult to exhibit any more patience to age something that’s this tasty now.

Cheers!

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