Planeta &

Planeta 'Eruzione 1614' Nerello Mascalese 2019
(Sicily, Italy) - [JS 94] [W&S 94] [VM 93] [DM 90]


Regular price $85.00 Sale price $59.99 Save $25.01
/

6-PACK PRICE = $55.99 per item (add 6+ quantity to your basket)
12-PACK PRICE = $49.99 per item (add 12+ quantity to your basket)

JS94 W&S94 VM93 DM90
Size
Only 4 items in stock!

About the Winery:
Planeta’s journey began at Sambuca di Sicilia, on the estate owned by the family since the 1600s. Here, three enthusiastic young Sicilians, Alessio, Francesca and Santi Planeta, under the guidance of Diego Planeta, began their winemaking venture in the mid-1980s. Subsequent years were spent matching the extraordinarily diverse Sicilian soils with both indigenous and international varieties. Planeta today encompasses six distinct wine estates in five regions across Sicily; Ulmo at Sambuca di Sicilia, Dispensa at Menfi, Dorilli at Vittoria, Buonivini at Noto, Sciara Nuova on Etna at Castiglione di Sicilia, and the newest addition, La Baronia at Capo Milazzo. Each vineyard site is carefully cultivated with grapes that best compliment the local terroir.

About the Wine:
The history of the volcano is marked by the eruptions which have shaped it. That of 1614 is legendary; it lasted for 10 years, the longest ever recorded. The vines which produce this wine grow on this actual lava flow. Nerello Mascalese grown on these black soils at a height, for an intensely aromatic red wine with an elegant structure.

Tasting Notes:
This wine draws its tasting strength and extraordinary aromas of incense of medicinal herbs, hibiscus and wild fennel from the lava sands. The wine is luminous and lyrical, describing without filters the character and refinement of the great mountain red wines, though at latitudes near Africa. Tannins of compact density are drawn with elegance. The sweetness and generosity of wild fruit and currants mingles with aromas of incense and beeswax, a faint almost salty flavour invites a further sip.

Technical Information

Appellation: Etna DOC
Varietal Composition: 100% Nerello Mascalese
Region: Sicily
Vineyard: Sciaranuova
Vineyard altitude: 840-860 meters above sea level
Vineyard soil type: perfectly positioned and exposed ground, black with lava sands and due to this extraordinarily rich in minerals with abundant structure of large dimensions, surrounded by woods and more recent lava flows.
Vine training method: espalier with spurred cordon and double spurred cordon pruning systems.
Vinification: the grapes are gathered into crates of about 16/17 kg, they are immediately refrigerated at 10 °C, then selected by hand. After destemming they ferment up to 25-26 °C in stainless steel vats and fermentation tanks, remaining on the skins from 21 to 35 days, with manual pressing and sometimes with short pumping-over, often with tanks being filled as soon as the alcoholic fermentation is complete. They are then racked softly using a vertical press, and continue to the malolactic fermentation in stainless steel.
Alcohol: 13.5%

Ratings & Reviews

94 Points - James Suckling: 
"Aromas of sliced strawberry, red cherry and grated nutmeg. Medium-to full-bodied with fine, slightly tense tannins. Bright and acidity-driven on the palate, with lots of white-peppery excitement. Grounded by notes of wet stone and sage. Well structured and layered. Best after 2024." (Jul 2022)

94 Points - Wine & Spirits Magazine:
"Grapes for this wine come from high-elevation vines around Planeta’s Sciaranuova winery on Etna’s north slope, the soils deriving from an eruption that occurred in 1614. As the crushed nerello mascalese grape skins form a cap over the fermenting juice, winemaker Patricia Tóth keeps that cap submerged for up to 40 days, extracting fresh red-berry flavors and fine-grained tannins. The wine is easy-drinking yet packed with personality, its taut raspberry and blood-orange flavors scented with notes of smoke and pink blossoms."

93 Points - Vinous Media:
"The 2019 Nerello Mascaele Eruzione 1614 is delicate and floral in the glass, with pretty rose tones and spice hints complementing dusty black cherry. It washes across the palate with ease, soft and juicy in feel with tactile mineral tones that add grip toward the close. A coating of fine tannins lingers as the 2019 finishes remarkably fresh yet youthfully structured. Some time will be required for this to come fully into focus." - Eric Guido (Sep 2023)

90 Points - Decanter Magazine:
"This is still very much a wine of Etna, despite being just outside the official boundary of the Etna DOC zone. Located in Contrada Sciaranuova on the volcano's north side, the wine undergoes a long post-fermentation maceration in cement followed by 12 months in botti grandi. Airy and textured, light red and black cherries and raspberry mingle with balsam, spice and earth. A poised red which trades complexity for freshness and drinkability." - James Button (May 2023)