Friday was our Planeta day. Without any doubt, Planeta are one of the most influential wineries in Sicily and have pioneered a range of international grape varieties and shown the wine world the potential the island has to offer.
Situated around Lake Ulmo, the Planeta winery is situated near to Sambuca, about 90 minutes south east of Marsala. This is the original family farmhouse and the location of their chardonnay vines that propelled Planeta into the spotlight back in the 90’s.
The Planeta family have been growing vines for hundreds of years and it was Diego Planeta who, as head of a huge cooperative in Menfi in the 80’s, saw the potential for creating a family brand and harnessing the huge potential that Sicily’s indigenous grapes as well as developing international varieties.
Fast forward to 2018 and Planeta have vineyards and wineries in all the key areas of Sicily and can thus illustrate under one brand the extraordinary diversity of this amazing island.
Chiara Planeta hosted our visit and gave us a masterclass on the diversity of Sicilian terroir and some wonderful insights into how Planeta has established itself as a flagship estate. The message that came across really strongly was the family desire to experiment, reflect on those efforts and then use the knowledge to create wines that revealed the character of each region.
We tasted six contrasting wines from various different sites, exploring new grape varieties and really understanding the differences in the climate from east to west.
Lunch was served in their wonderful, cavernous barn and we savoured some delicious nibbles with their rosato, an amazing Timballo Melanzane with a magnum of their esteemed Chardonnay 2012, stuffed, rolled beef with the Burdese 2010 (also in magnum) and some refreshingly delicious sliced oranges to finish.
A fabulous day that furthered our understanding of Sicilian wine in an utterly delicious way.
Wines Tasted
La Segreta Bianco 2017 DOC Sicilia
Terebinto 2016 (Grillo) DOC Sicilia
Etna Bianco 2016 (Carricante) DOC Etna
Cerasuolo di Vittoria (Nero d’Avola, Frappato) 2015 DOCG
Mamertino 2015 ( Nero d’Avola, Nocera) DOC Mamertino
Santa Cecilia 2014 (Nero d’Avola) DOC Noto
With lunch
Rose 2017 DOC Sicilia
Alastro 2016 DOC Sicilia
Chardonnay 2012 DOC Menfi
Merlot 2013 Sito dell’Ulmo DOC Sicilia
Burdese 2010 DOC Sicilia