2019 Etna Bianco Superiore Pietra Marina
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Tasting notes
This is the wine that started it all. Benanti's Pietra Marina wine started a quarter century ago, and its success is what put Etna—especially its white wines—on the map of the world's best wine territories. The 2019 Etna Bianco Superiore Pietra Marina has a flinty note or reduction that cedes to preserved lemon, Bartlett pear and crushed oyster shell. It ages in stainless steel for 30 months, followed by 12 additional months in bottle. The fruit comes from a two-hectare site with acidic soils (with a pH of 6.2) that are rich in minerals, located on the eastern side of Etna at a cool 800 meters in elevation. Production is 10,056 bottles.
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Alison Napjus, Wine Spectator
More reviews and scores
A statuesque white, with rapierlike acidity enmeshed with finely woven flavors of apricot, persimmon and Marcona almond that show accents of lemon oil, honeysuckle and pine. There's a lovely, feather-weight quality to the silky texture, while a racy streak of salinity drives the very long finish.
This intense Etna is full of tension, showing candied cedar, kerosene, apricots and orange blossoms. Light- to medium-bodied, it has a bone-dry style with crisp acidity, minerals and a tight, slightly austere finish.
The 2019 Etna Bianco Superiore Pietra Marina captivates. It's perfumed and floral, with enriching notes of almond paste and confectionery spice that perfectly accentuate a smoky core of white peaches. There's more lift on the palate, but it's a little backward, possessing wiry textures and an intense mineral core that adds depth to its citrus-inflected orchard fruits. Nervous acidity forces the mouth to water and maintains a dazzling freshness as inner florals resonate and a sour lime concentration settles in. The 2019 is just an infant today, compact yet complex, balanced and loaded with character. It will be a gorgeous Etna Bianco to follow over the next decade or more.
About the producer
Benanti is one of the founding fathers of modern-day wine in Sicily, with Giuseppe Benanti an early champion of wines made from the slopes of Mount Etna. Today the property is in the hands of Giuseppe’s children and remains one of the region’s leading names.