Planeta "Burdese" Sicilia Menfi DOC 2015
(Sicily, Italy) - [JS 93] [WA 91] [WS 90]

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:
In local dialect Burdese means from Bordeaux and recalls the classic grapes of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. This is a red wine of great density, structure and balance, produced in limited quantities from selected vineyards. Burdese is a great wine for aging which offers a complexity of aromas and flavours, fruit of the Sicilian sun.

Tasting Notes:
A Bordeaux made in Sicily from a selection of the best grapes of the company’s vineyards. A powerful red, structured on a dense and important tannin texture balanced by a decisive alcoholic content. Tasting strength based on a ripe, very dense, rich fruit. The flavours are those of bilberry and preserved sour cherries mixed with leather which gradually develop to intense aromas of cherry, cocoa, iodine and rosemary.

Technical Information

Appellation: Menfi DOC
Varietal Composition: 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Cabernet Franc
Region: Sicily
Vineyard: Dispensa, Maroccoli
Vineyard altitude: 75, 430 meters above sea level
Vine training method: spurred cordon.
Vinification: : destalking followed by 21 days of lying on the skins; after racking, maturation in new Allier oak barriques for 14 months; malolactic fermentation in wood and stainless steel.
Alcohol: 13.5%

Ratings & Reviews

93 Points - James Suckling:
"A suave blend of cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc with dried blackcurrants, leather and dried elderberries. Full-bodied and structured with iron-clad tannins and a pretty backbone of refreshing acidity. Drink from 2021." - (November 2019)

91 Points - Wine Advocate:
"This blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc offers power and density with lots of sound varietal purity. The 2015 Sicilia Menfi Burdese is a textured red wine with rich and succulent characteristics that flow to black fruit, spice, tar and smoke. I like the restrained intensity of this sunny and warm vintage." - Monica Larner (October 2019)

90 Points - Wine Spectator:
"Crème de cassis and warm bread notes lead the way in this expressive, full-bodied red, transitioning on the palate to include accents of black tea leaf, graphite and Mandarin orange peel. Dense tannins firm the finish. Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2023 through 2028. 5,000 cases made, 300 cases imported." - Alison Napjus (October 2021)