Erse Etna DOC Bianco 2023

"Erse, the call of the sunrise and the dew at dawn. The blue of the drops of the dew. The blue of the sky of Etna."

The entry white from the Fessina battery, the same name as the basic red, is the steel-vinified version of Carricante, combined for 20% with Minnella and Catarratto, indigenous Etna grapes from the company’s vineyards in Rovittello. In the new Etna DOC Bianco di Fessina the blend with Catarratto and Minnella integrates the aromatic apparatus. The fruit and the fragrance enhance the wonderful emotions that Carricante gives, so savory and with an unmistakable acidity. Erse Bianco is, intentionally, a fresh, young, direct wine, with great drinkability and an evident mineral imprint. It comes from a blend of Carricante coming from Contrade di Caselle and Volpare in Milo and Contrada Manzeudda in Biancavilla.

DENOMINATION: Etna Bianco D.O.C.
VARIETALS: Carricante 90%, Catarratto, Minnella 10%
ENOLOGIST / AGRONOMIST: Benedetto Alessandro

TASTING NOTES
COLOR: straw yellow, green nuances.
SCENT: broom, mountain herbs, lemon peel, almond, white flowers.
TASTE: flint, savory, high acidity, toasted, persistent herbaceous, saline finish.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PRODUCTION AREA
ZONA DI PRODUZIONE: Biancavilla, Milo
VINEYARD SURFACE: 2,0 ha Biancavilla e 2,0 ha Milo
AGE OF THE VINEYARD: 1950 Biancavilla, 1930 Milo
EXPOSITION: South-Biancavilla, East-Milo
ALTITUDE :  900 mt above sea level Biancavilla / 950 mt above sea level Milo
SOIL COMPOSITION: Biancavilla, Contrada Manzudda. The Biancavilla area at 900msl is characterized by areas composed of small volcanoes and craters from remote eras, these led to the formation of limestone caves and a terroir composed mainly of clayey particles, lapilli leftovers, sand and volcanic ash. There are small fractions of potassium, basaltic lavas and ancient tuffs. The thermic excursion is sudden and wider than the north side, it is such that it reaches 30 degrees giving, with the fine and sandy skeleton, a vertical elegance and a unique strong minerality, that if combined with the high rates to the genotypic acidity of the indigenous varieties guarantee a very high aging potential both for the Carricante grapes, Nerello mascalese and Nerello capuccio.

Milo, Condrade Caselle, Volpara and Rinazzo Milo, on the eastern side of the volcano, represents a very particular terroir, it is lashed by strong rainfalls, among the highest in percentage on the whole island and is subject to very complex pedo-climatic conditions, which if expertly supported are able to give unique wines for complexity and longevity. The soil, the son of the volcanic activity, is made up of several spheres embraced over the centuries, from dark and sandy hills deriving from the collapse of a part of the Etna slope and from recent elements such as pumice, lapilli, fine and draining ash. This terroir, with a subacid reaction, is particularly fertile and loaded with iron and copper, silicon and manganese. And it is here that the Carricante finds its pure and typical expression. The unique conditions, in fact, allow you to raise the vine at altitudes almost unthinkable, with great advantages on the slow and steady maturation of the late-ripening indigenous grapes, whose harvest usually takes place during the first or second week of October
HARVEST TIME: October
YIELD PER HA: 6.000 kg
VINIFICATION: static decantation for 24-36 hours, racking and fermentation start
FERMENTATION: alcoholic fermentation in stainless steel tanks under temperature control
AGING: aging in bottle for 6-8 months
TOTAL PRODUCTION: 18.000 bottles of 0,75 cl