White Wine Serra Ferdinandea 2020

"Bianco" is the perfect interpretation of a legendary place by Serra Ferdinandea, a collaboration between the Planeta family, Sicilian doc for generations, and the Oddo family, Provençals with international plans. Among the "greenhouses," the rocky clefts that open onto the rugged hillsides overlooking the sea of Sciacca, Angelo Planeta oversees the care of vineyards composed of native Sicilian and typical French varieties. On the horizon, turning your gaze in a southerly direction, the sea hides the fantastic Ferdinandea Island, which emerged from the waters in 1831 from an underwater volcanic explosion and disappeared again among the waves a few months later. The bottle label gives credit to the myth: a hippocampus/island bearing a vine shoot on its back is reflected in the sea in the image of a giant snake.

The grapes that give life to Serra Ferdinandea's "Bianco" have characters that are very distant from each other; yet, they know how to complement each other very well: they are grown biodynamically in the Monti Cirami plot, at an altitude of 411 meters above sea level, with a subsoil characterized by a complex stratification of limestone mixed with stones, sand, silt and clays, residues of ancient marine deposits. Sauvignon Blanc and Grillo are farmed biodynamically and harvested by hand between late August and mid-September. As soon as they arrive at the winery, the grapes are cooled to 12°C, then started for soft pressing. The flower must undergoes cold stabilization in steel for a couple of weeks and subsequent fermentation takes place in different containers, each dedicated to a certain percentage of the masses: 60 percent oak barrels, 25 percent steel, 15 percent barrique and tonneaux. The blended wines age in oak for 9 months: half in large 35-hectoliter barrels and half in 5-hectoliter tonneaux.

The sunny territories of Sicily and Provence are represented by the golden yellow guise of the "Bianco" Serra Ferdinandea. A beautiful floral vibrancy is picked up on the nose with white hints of acacia, accompanied by a sweet tone of light honey, notes of dried herbs and the yellow of chamomile. A certain amount of complexity is brought by the slightly oxidative notes of nuts, reminiscent of wood processing. The palate is pulpy and ripe, but with a lot of mineral underpinning the balance and persistence. A white for possible evolution in the cellar. The 'pairing calls the sea with strong flavors: tuna, mackerel, spaghetti with sea urchins.