Aeolian Sailing Trip & a bit of Etna

Eolian Islands
Tasted Friday, August 22, 2014 - Sunday, August 31, 2014 by Papies with 683 views

Introduction

A great week of sailing and an opportunity to sample as many local wines. We avoided where possible chardonnays and foreign grapes.

In general we should have tried more reds but the heat of the summer was not really red wine friendly. Shame really as the reds we came across were far more interesting than the whites which many of them felt generic and lacked real character. We did of course come across some excellent Carricante and Grillo which are ones to look out for but the majority was pretty much ok wines, in no way memorable. With the exception of the Pietra Marina (Carricante) we would go away remembering the excellent pure reds of Tenuta della Terre Nere.

Small note on old vintages of white wines. Unless from a great source they are to be avoided as the Sicilian summer does not help them at all.

Flight 1 - To Begin (1 Note)

  • NV Taittinger Prelude 91 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    (8/22/2014)

    By the glass at the BA lounge gatwick.
    Once again a pretty soli, round and rich NV champagne . Similar in a way of richness and depth with the Bollinger grande cuvée . Toasty nose, rich yeasty profile, ripe fruit. solid structure and very enjoyable. 90-91

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Flight 2 - La Siciliana, Catania - http://www.lasiciliana.it/ (1 Note)

Old school classic but very good, traditional food.

  • 2005 Duca di Salaparuta Sicilia Duca Enrico 91 Points

    Italy, Sicily, Sicilia

    (8/22/2014)

    100% Nero D'Avola,maybe sees some old oak in its elevage. Quite open and feels ready to drink. We had 2 bottles both popped and poured and were very consistent. Open on the nose, light violet feel, dark fruits . Tannins are Firm yet on the round side. Good ripe fruit core yet not overripe and controlled on the extraction. Very good expression of the grape and very nice to drink now. 91

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Flight 3 - Za Pippina, Santa Agata di Militello (1 Note)

Good generic Tratoria but that's about it

  • 2013 Corvo Grillo Irmana 86 Points

    Italy, Sicily, Sicilia

    (8/22/2014)

    Not a proper TN as we had this for lunch on a very hot day in Sicily. Well made wine but lacked depth is all we remember. Worth setting up in CT though.

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Flight 4 - Filippino, Lipari - http://www.eolieexperience.it/it/home-filippino (2 Notes)

A pretty good traditional and well run fish restaurant on top of Lipari. Very solid. Worth the walk up.

  • 2009 Benanti Etna Bianco Superiore Pietramarina 92 Points

    Italy, Sicily, Etna Bianco Superiore

    (8/24/2014)

    Had 2 very consistent bottles. Very mineral, full of Etna, volcanic character, overplayed with citrus fruits, touch of green apple. This is a wine of character and quality, well made, pure and really enjoyable. No oak of course just pure volcanic, mineral wine. 92 and very good

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  • 2010 Marco De Bartoli Zibibbo Pietranera 89 Points

    Italy, Sicily, Terre Siciliane

    (8/23/2014)

    Quite an interesting wine, 11.5% alc and although it give a sweetish start it evolves into a waxy , light mineral side. Very specific wine. Quite a bit of ripe fruit, round and feels like it needs to be drunk sooner than later. 89

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Flight 5 - Da Pina, Panarea - http://www.panareadapina.it/ristorante.asp (3 Notes)

Seems like along with Raya this is the place to go for dinner. Very good.

Flight 6 - Capofaro, Salina - http://capofaro.it/en/restaurant-sicilian/ (2 Notes)

Go early and catch the views, then enjoy a pretty solid dinner.

Flight 7 - La Baya, Santa Agata di Militello (3 Notes)

Ok tratoria by the sea, Wine list was good though

  • 2012 Cottanera Etna Bianco 89 Points

    Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

    (8/29/2014)

    Quite ripe, green fruits, citrus mostly . Well made and with good palate presence. Some feel of oak here. Crowd pleasing wine but low on complexity.89

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  • 2012 Planeta Fiano Sicilia Cometa 90 Points

    Italy, Sicily, Sicilia

    (8/29/2014)

    Set aside their oaky monsters, planeta makes gems like this Cometa, full of volcanic character, mineral, pure wine. Pretty solid wine. 90

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  • 2004 Duca di Salaparuta Sicilia Duca Enrico 91 Points

    Italy, Sicily, Sicilia

    (8/29/2014)

    Third vintage of this wine in the last few days and this was more the right type like the very good 2005(Papies 91) and away from the ribena feeling of the 2007(Papies 85). Good smoky character, nice ripe fruit but not overdone in any way. Very good. We wonder if they changed their winemaking post 2005 or if it's just how he wine feels when young. Both he 05 and this 04 though were very good wines. 91

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Flight 8 - Monaci Delle Terre Nere, Etna - http://www.monacidelleterrenere.it/en/ (6 Notes)

A true gen of a boutique hotel/ Agrotourismo on the foothills of Etna. Simply stunning location and very well run. Excellent wine list just a bonus!

  • 2012 Frank Cornelissen Munjebel MC 90 Points

    Italy, Sicily, Terre Siciliane

    (8/30/2014)

    2012 Harvest, and with a label resembling sake...
    natural wine, interesting, good open nose but really a touch too sweet ( has 4g of residual sugar apparently) and we didn't really get it. Interesting but that's about it. 90 for the novelty

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  • 2000 Benanti Etna Serra della Contessa 91 Points

    Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

    (8/30/2014)

    Had two very consistent bottles of this wine, sourced by the producer by the Monaci della Terre Nere. A true crowd pleaser of a wine, well mature and round, open on the nose with rich dark fruits and light tobacco notes.However the use of oak here takes away from the character of the wine, mutes down the expression of the Nerello Mascalese and in a way makes it blunt and far away from that Burgundian character Etna reds can offer. A very good 91

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  • 2006 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso Guardiola 92 Points

    Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

    (8/30/2014)

    The wine starts with a lot of slap hour on the nose and needs quite a bit of aeration to get rid of that so we would suggest decanting for 30mins minimum. Post this though it develops into a very pure expression of Nerello Mascalese, smoky edge to it, Burgundian in a way but with a richer darker fruit side. Very good , elegant and with a long life ahead of it. 92

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  • 2007 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso PrePhylloxera La Vigna di Don Peppino 94 Points

    Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

    (8/30/2014)

    Needs decanting and we decanted for more than an hour. This is built for longevity and needs its time in bottle so even at this stage it is very young. Not austere but just like a proper Barolo it needs its time to deliver what it really can. Shy on the nose but still good dark fruits, light dark cherry. Quite deep, complex wine, pure and well made. Old vines of more than 115 yrs do add a depth to this. Very elegant and time will only help here.94

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  • 2011 Masseria Setteporte Etna Rosso 92 Points

    Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

    (8/30/2014)

    Although young this shows a pure and fresh, vibrant side to Etna reds. Purity of Nerello Mascalese. Burgundian in so many ways or maybe baroloesque? Sometimes it reminded us of a well made, and by well we mean not overdone, new world Pinot .Vibrant dark fruit, firm tannin yet not angular and very giving even at this time. Drinks very nicely but will age for sure. One to look out but at like 50€ it's not really a cheap find. 92+

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  • 2007 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso Santo Spirito 92 Points

    Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

    (8/31/2014)

    Open from the pull of the cork. Very expressive and elegant. Has that smoky edge we saw in the quardiola, but has a rounder and richer side. Dark fruits, more Barolo than burgundy good length and complexity. Pretty solid wine and drinks very nicely now. Time is its friend too. 92+

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Flight 9 - Dinners & Lunches during Sailing (28 Notes)

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