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.
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