Azienda di Rachele (Contrada Salice, Milo, Catania, Sicily) Etna Bianco Superiores 2023 and 2021: ViniMilo 2025 white-grape-identity Masterclass

The L’identità bianchista dell’Etna (The identity of the whites of Etna) ViniMilo 2025 Masterclass explored non-sequential vintages of Etna Bianco Superiores from leading producers such as Barone di Villagrande, Maugeri, Benanti, Iuppa, Rachele, and Terre di Nuna. I have previously reported on a number of these tastings and continue herein with Azienda di Rachele.

Azienda di Rachele is, like Azienda Agricola Iuppa, located within Milo's Contrada Salice but its vineyards do not span as wide an elevation range. Rachele's vineyard ranges between 550 and 700 m. 

Grapes have been grown on a core property for many generations  but it was only with the 2021 vintage that the decision was made to vinify some of the product for their own wine. I first tasted a Rachele wine at ViniMilo 2024 and was impressed by the humility of Rosario Raciti (the proprietor) and the quality of the wine.

As Rosario tells it, the core of the Rachele vineyard is "a small plot of land passed down through generations." He expanded on that small plot and, in 2013, decided to host a Carricante-only vineyard.  Once that vineyard was fully implemented he needed new challenges and began, in 2021, to vinify a part of the harvest. The first wine was released on to the market in 2023.

The soil on the property is sandy volcanic and the Carricante grapes are trained in the traditional Etna manner. Only top quality grapes are selected for the wine and these are hand-harvested into 20-kg crates. The grapes are destemmed and pressed and then fermented in neutral containers. The wine is matured in stainless steel tanks and further aged in bottle.

Tasting the Wines

The wines offered up for this tasting were drawn from the 2023 and 2021 vintages. A bottle shot and Brandon's vintage notes follow.

Brandon Tokash's vintage notes are as follows:

2023 -- The year of the mold; especially for the north slope. Milo was burning, hot, and dry. There was one day where there were major fires all around Milo with some of Iuppa's vineyard burnt. There was concern for smoke taint but we didn't taste any. A better vintage for Nerello than Carricante. I think that some of the freshness and acid was lost, especially at lower Milo altitudes. Stay with the high-elevation Carricante (above 800 m).

2021 — Another dry spring and summer with typical Milo rains a few weeks before and during harvest. If I remember, the 2021’s that we tasted was the vintage that we thought was better than the others. If that’s the case, the vintage was excellent.

As has been the practice in this series of tastings, the youngest vintage was tasted first. The 2023 Rachele EBS showed sweet white fruit, sage, minerality, spice, mint, and a savoriness on the nose. Lime on the palate along with a restrained salinity and minerality. Textured. Long, limey finish. Some black pepper on the finish.

The 2021 Rachele EBS showed herbs, a hint of sweet fruit, salinity, and minerality on the nose. Less intense on the nose than was the 2023. Green orange on the attack giving way to a savoriness. Mineral. Sapid. Dried herbs and faded lime.

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Both wines exhibited good quality. The 2021 was the first vintage for this estate and it has retained its integrity. The lowered intensity on the nose eon the '21 is probably related to age-related development and softening. I enjoyed both of these wines.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Azienda Agricola Iuppa (Contrada Salice, Milo, Catania, Sicily) and its contributions to the ViniMilo 2025 white-grape-identity-of-Etna Masterclass

Azienda Agricola Iuppa's Lindo Etna Bianco Superiore Contrada Salice was the third offering in the lineup of wines tasted in the ViniMilo 2025 White-Grape-Identity-of-Etna Masterclass. The wines on offer were from the 2023 and 2020 vintages. It should be noted that the former is designated Contrada Salice on the label while the latter is not.

I have not previously written about this estate so some background is necessary prior to launching into the comparative tasting.

I couldn't help but smile this morning as I listened to a podcast wherein Marco, the eldest son of Angelo, the estate's owner, was being interviewed by Marc Millon of Wine Food and Travel and told the story of how he found out that they owned a vineyard. 

Marco Iuppa at the right

Angelo, according to Marco, was in the construction business but sometime in the early 2000s he came to the family and told them that they now owned a vineyard. Marco did not know whether to laugh or cry. The next day he went with his father to examine their vineyard and they could hardly open the gate. It was a forest, he said. One piece of land had visible vines but the remainder was comprised of broken down terraces and vines overrun by large trees. 

That was then. This is now.

The obscured vineyards that Marco saw on his first visit to the property have been transformed into terraced vineyards with traditional dry lava stone walls. The Iuppa team has built one of the most esthetically pleasing vineyards on the mountain while retaining that original, visible old-vine plot.

The Iuppa property extends over 9 ha in Milo's Contrada Salice at elevations ranging between 530 and 700 m. The soil in this Contrada is sandy volcanic at 700 m and above and medium textured at elevations below that point. Of the 9 ha, 7 ha have been planted to Carricante, Catarratto, Nerello Mascalese, and Nerello Cappucchio, with a portion hosting a "centuries-old, free-range vineyard" populated with various obscure grape varieties. Ugo Nicosia, the estate’s Marketing Manager (one of the most gifted wine communicators on the mountain and a fierce advocate for Milo wines and the role that the volcanic soils play in the formulation of same), explains the vineyard layout (here) and the old-vine vineyard (here) during a walk-through with the author and Brandon Tokash.

Left to right, Brandon Tokash,
 Ugo Nicosia (Iuppa Marketing Manager),
and Angelo Iuppa (Proprietor)

The estate's stated philosophy is to "diligently work every day to produce authentic, territorial, high-quality wines" that take account of both "Etna's winemaking traditions" and "the most modern oenological techniques."

The vineyard is farmed organically and soil health maintenance and improvement are at the core of vineyard practices. For example, the vineyard is hand-tilled, thus eliminating the risk of machinery-driven soil compaction. Green material is harvested from the plants and integrated into the soil to enrich it with nitrogen. And, of course, chemical use in the vineyard is avoided.

The range of Iuppa wines is pictured below along with characteristics of the growing areas and fermentation and aging regimes. All grapes destined for these wines are subjected to selection both in the field and in the cellar.

During our September (2025) visit to the estate, Ugo led us on a tasting of the estate's 2024 wines. The tasting covered the whites, reds, and old vines wines.

Tasting the Lindo wines at the VinoMilo2025 White Wine Identity of Etna Masterclass

As mentioned previously, the Lindo offerings for the Masterclass were the 2023 and 2020 vintages, in that order.

Brandon Tokash's vintage notes are as follows:

2023 -- The year of the mold; especially for the north slope. Milo was burning, hot, and dry. There was one day where there were major fires all around Milo with some of Iuppa's vineyard burnt. There was concern for smoke taint but we didn't taste any. A better vintage for Nerello than Carricante. I think that some of the freshness and acid was lost, especially at lower Milo altitudes. Stay with the high-elevation Carricante (above 800 m).

2020 -- Warmer than normal spring followed by a hot, dry summer. Overall, the vintage was a good quality one; perhaps better than average.

The 2023 Lindo Contrada Salice exhibited a classic Etna Bianco Superiore nose: sage, minerality, mint, herbs, and citrus. A lean entry on the palate with lime, lime skin, and a metallic mineralogy giving texture to the wine. Alive on the palate. Persistent, with hints of bitterness and herbs. Mineral finish.

The Lindo 2020 had an initial whiff of sulfur and burnt rubber which persisted on the nose. Lime skin and white fruit on the palate. Slate-like minerality. Bianco Superiore characteristics somewhat suppressed.

There were major differences between the two wines which had, in my opinion, nothing to do with age or vintage characteristics. The 2020 appeared to have either winemaking issues or issues with the specific bottle that was poured into my glass. The 2020 was disappointing, especially after the high tone set by the 2023. I expected to derive even more pleasure from the older vintage. I did not.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Benanti Contrada Rinazzo Etna Bianco Superiores 2022 and 2020: ViniMilo 2025 white-grape-identity Masterclass

A couple of Benanti wines (Contrada Rinazzo Etna Bianco Superiores 2022 and 2020) were tasted at the ViniMilo 2025 White Grape Identity of Etna Masterclass.

Benanti was the pioneer of quality winemaking on Mt. Etna and its Pietra Marina, made initially by Salvo Foti, was long one of the finest wines made from the Carricante grape. After taking over management of the estate from their father, Antonio and Salvino have changed the style of their Etna Bianco Superiore as well as reconfigured the lineup. Pietra Marina is still the flagship white but its aging regime has been extended (on lees in stainless steel vats or 30 months plus 1 year in bottle). Two Contrada Biancos have been added to the lineup (Contrada Rinazzo Etna Bianco Superiore and Contrada Cavalieri Etna Bianco) with the Bianco Superiore fermented and aged in stainless steel vats on lees for 12 months and in bottle for an additional 6 months.

Grapes for the Bianco Superiores are sourced from the same Milo vineyard, with the Pietra Marina wine being made from the highest-elevation vines. The physical environment of the Contrada Rinazzo vineyard is as follows:

The Milo growing season notes from Brandon Tokash are as follows:

2022 — This was a hot, dry summer, hotter than normal especially at night. I thought that the Carricante was bigger, perhaps rounder with less tension and acid. Not my favorite year.

2020 -- Warner than normal spring followed by a hot, dry summer. Overall, the vintage was a good quality one; perhaps better than average.

The 2022 Contrada Rinazzo EBS showed sage, salinity, mint and spice on the nose. Soft on the palate with lime sapidity and a metallic minerality. The 2020 showed an herbiness and sweet fruit on the nose. Lime and salinity on the palate. Character-free.

Based on Brandon's notes, these two vintages were  sub-optimal for Milo Carricante.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme