-
2014 Aeris Wines Etna Bianco Superiore - Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC (8/5/2019)
This is from two bottles. Pop and pour. If you haven’t tasted Carricante, which I had not, you might need a slight adjustment. At first I was picking up things I liked that were close to my experiences, but were slightly different. All of these flavors and perceptions really came together for the last bottle and a half. These notes are the finished perceptions: The wine is slightly aromatic, with cistern and scratched glass perceptions, and maybe a hint of Meyer lemon peel, very nice. Also something green, like a broken citrus branch. I loved the taste and mouth feel. The fruit was in a very good way, and in a cool toned way something akin to a more standard lemon, like a Harvey, sour sweet, and pungent. It as also crunchy and pithy, but it stayed cool and fluid. There was a light bittersweet chewiness to the lemon and yellow fruit. There were spices, but I cannot compare to say Riesling or Gewurtz., it was like a broken new tangerine leaf. I drank this outside, and shared with friends, who all, including me, wanted more as the bottle opened and warmed. I will be buying more of this if offered! (92 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
While I haven’t had the Aeris wines, I had had my bit of carricante and it makes for a pretty unique experience. I would say like a volcanic Muscadet on steroids or a Galician white but different. They are very savory.
It’s an excellent wine. Light yet intense and complex.
Great descriptions! I completely forgot to mention in my note that I drank it with a 2013 Do Ferreiro Albariño Rías Baixas Cepas Vellas, an amazing wine, and while different they shared some great similarities!
what would be the best food match?
Marcus, we were standing eating heavy hors d’oeuvres with some Italian influence. But they were all over the place. My buddy got promotion from Airbus 320 to the 330 captain, so big celebration! No other berserkers present, but tons of winos none the less.
Nothing quite like it. Unique and exceptional.
When I all too briefly covered Rhys for TWA, I tasted this and remember doing some mental gymnastics to get in the right frame of mind to approach it after their Chardonnays from Anderson Valley and Santa Cruz Mountains. Certainly a delicious wine and will be very interested to see how the project unfolds.
Carricante also seems to have an interesting waxy textural component, a little reminiscent of Chenin but not as strong.
-Al
I get that as well, particularly with a little age. I drink a modest amount of Albarino, and Rhy’s Carricante has some of the character of old vine Albarino, some of the richness of a good white burgundy, and some of the wax and intensity of good Chenin.
Always wanted to try this wine, but it’s just about more expensive than any other carricante coming out of Italy. Wonder if those that own this wine have compared to the best Italian producers.
I love grilled seafood with it. Carricante tends to have a salty lemony flavor to it.
Yeah, I also think Carricante shows salinity, at least in the better regions of Mount Etna. It will be interesting to see how it performs in California.
-Al
Kevin had a bottle of the California Carricante open at the last pickup. It was really good.
Always wanted to try this wine, but it’s just about more expensive than any other carricante coming out of Italy. Wonder if those that own this wine have compared to the best Italian producers.
It is a wine coming out of Italy, made by the former winemaker and vineyard use for one of the top producers.
-Al
Yes. I know it is from Italy, just wondering how it compared to other Etna producers given the top of market pricing.
I just love Carricante and just researched and published a long profile of the grape a few weeks back. Most liken it to Riesling but there are those who find similarities with Furmint of Tokaji. But there’s nothing like it on those volcanic soils of Etna. The wines are so precise and focused.
Thanks for the note Charlies.
The 2016 just got raves in the Vinuous report that released yesterday. Vintage and this wine specifically.
We love this wine. We drank a '17 a few weeks ago.