Vintage: 2016
Product Type: White Wines
Country: Italy
Region: Sicily
Producer: Tasca d' Almerita
Alcohol: 12.5%
Grape Varieties: Catarratto with a small percentage of Chardonnay
Closure: Synthetic Cork

Producer: The large Regaleali estate, high in the central Sicilian hills, has been in the hands of the noble Tasca family since 1830. Ever since, the property has been run according to the best principles of the agricultural aristocracy: with one eye firmly on quality, and the other on experimentation. Tasca's large range is the product of the family's most successful innovations, including short pruning for lower yields, the championing of local Inzolia and Nero d'Avola vines, the introduction of French varieties, and the use of barrique and temperature control. Even now, forty grape varieties from all over Europe are planted just for experimental purposes, with the possibility of making the grade in the future. However, there is already plenty on offer in this singularly accomplished range of Sicilian wines.

Vineyard: The grapes come from a mixture of espalier-trained and bush vines planted on sandy clay soils in the province of Palermo.

Vineyards: are all on the hillside, at altitudes of between 500 and 900 metres above sea level. The Chardonnay is picked first, with the Catarratto several weeks later.

Winery: The juice was fermented in stainless steel tanks at 14-16C, then kept on lees for a further four months in tank. No oak ageing or malolactic fermentation took place.

Taste: Pink grapefruit, citrus flowers, white peach and pineapple on the nose, followed by a palate that manages to be both rich and vibrant.