Donnafugata Anthilia Sicilia Bianco 2019

Donnafugata Anthilia Sicilia Bianco DOC 2019

We discovered and tasted Donnafugata wines as part of the Italian Village Chicago virtual wine dinner tasting and food pairing. For the evening, Italian Village Restaurants hosted “A Night in Sicily” presented by Jared Gelband, Italian Village Wine Director and Chef Jose, and guest host Italian Wine Specialist, Daniele Sbordi, who lead a virtual journey to the island of Sicily and a tasting of wines from producer Donnafugata Winery. 

Having tried their wines, I was interested to explore more of their portfolio and picked up this label on my next visit to our local wine shop, Binny's, the Chicagoland beverage super store. For a baked pork chop dinner, I opened this Donnafugata Anthilia Sicilia Bianco, a crisp light refreshing easy drinking white, an ideal pairing and perfect for the occasion.

As I wrote in my recent post, Donnafugata is the brand of the Rallo family of Sicily, who have 150 years of tradition in producing premium wines. Wine producers Giacomo Rallo and his wife, Gabriella, launched the Donnafugata brand in 1983. The name Donnafugata, translated literally “woman in flight,” refers to the history of the Habsburg queen Maria Carolina who was the consort of Ferdinand IV of Bourbon. In the early 19th century, she fled Naples and found refuge a few miles from the estate’s vineyards. Her story inspired the effigy of the head of a woman with her hair tossed by the wind that dominates the label of every bottle of Donnafugata. 

Donnafugata wines are produced in three distinct grape-growing sites in western Sicily: the historic cellars in Marsala, built in 1851; the cellar at Contessa Entellina, where the company has 642 acres of vineyards planted to Ansonica, Catarratto, Nero d’Avola, Chardonnay, Viognier, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah; and the cellar on the volcanic island of Pantelleria, where Donnafugata cultivates 104 acres of Zibibbo vineyards. 

Part of their distinctive personality and branding of Donnafugata wines is their library of elaborate labels based on artwork inspired by Gabriella Rallo and designed by Stefano Vitale whose original artwork is featured each on the labels of each of the two dozen wines they produce. All Donnafugata wines are renowned for their use of native Sicilian and international varietals, balancing tradition and innovation in a quest for quality wines.

Wines from Sicily represent over 15% of Italy’s total vineyard land - more than the whole country of South Africa and almost as much as Australia!

One third of these Sicilian vineyards' acreage are devoted to the Catarratto grape, followed by Nero d’Avola, the second most produced grape and top red. Much of the Catarratto that is produced is blended with Inzolia and Grillo to make the famous Marsala wine, a fortified wine similar to Port with the rest used to produce mostly affordable everyday wines.

Donnafugata Anthilia Sicilia Bianco DOC 2019

This label is a blend of indigenous Sicilian grapes, mostly Lucido (Catarratto) and Ansonica plus a small amount of other international varieties from southwest Sicily, Italy. The wine was fermented and aged for a short period in stainless steel. 

Winemaker notes: Anthìlia is made principally from Catarratto, a white grape native to Sicily and grown at the winery’s Contessa Entellina estate and surrounding vineyards. The fruit was vinified cold in stainless steel, then aged for two months in tank and two months in bottle prior to release. The robe is clear yellow and aromatic of citrus fruits and flowers: lemon, lime, melon, bay leaf. There’s also a slight reductive note that reads like clay or wet stone. The palate is piquant, with snappy yellow fruits and peels, but the finish is more languid, tapering in ripe tropical pineapple. It’s a good partner for young cheeses, especially of goat’s milk, and light fish and shellfish preparations. It’s also a clever match for briny foods — think green olives, capers, tapenade, feta, anchovies.

More Winemaker notes for this wine: The 2019 Donnafugata Anthilia Sicilia Bianco begins with a nice crisp and fruity aroma of green apple, pear, peaches, lemon, lime and a touch of tropical fruit. Tasting the wine reveals a nicely tart combination of green apple, a little grapefruit, pear and creamy lemon/lime zest. This delicious wine has a great lively yet soft texture, good acidity and excellent underlying minerality. On the quite long and lingering finish that minerality turns chalky and comes to the front.

This was rated 91points by James Suckling and 90 points by Wine Enthusiast.

Light straw yellow colored, light bodied, fresh, lively and crisp with a fruity bouquet white apple and pear fruits with hints of citrus and wildflowers. 

 

RM 87 points.

 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3619328

https://www.donnafugata.it/en/

https://www.donnafugata.it/en/wines/anthilia/

@DonnafugataWine

@italianvlg 

@unwindwine 

 

Mt Veeder Napa Cab and Sicilian Blend for Italian Dinner

 Duo of Mt Veeder Napa Bordeaux Varietals and Unique Sicilian White Blend for Italian Dinner and Evening Tasting

With Sis Jan visiting from SoCal, we dined at Angeli's Italian, our favorite neighborhood trattoria. We took BYOB from our cellar a Yates Mt Veeder Napa Cab from Yates Family Vineyards, a producer we visited together during our Napa Valley Mt Veeder Wine Experience back in 2011. 

As mentioned, we visited Yates Family Vineyards located high on the upper slopes of Mt Veeder in the Mayacamas Mountains in the southwest corner of Napa Valley, in the Mount Veeder Appellation.

Yates have 35 acres of steep, hillside vineyards that were replanted in the early 1980s to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc.  

The Yates vineyards sitting at the upper reaches of the mountain at an average elevation of over 1,100 feet, have site terroir that combines the altitude and its exposure and drainage with its microclimates and volcanic soils to produce incredible grapes with intense fruit flavors.  These elements all contribute to produce long-lived ageworthy wines from the estate vineyard.  

Proprietor Mike Yates, shown left, is aided by his daughter Whitney Yates Hanes, working together as Co-Winemakers to produce wines under the Yates label. 

They estate bottle standard Bordeaux varietal designated labels as well as a Reserve. They also produce a St Emilion style blend and a left bank Bordeaux blend Alden Perry Reserve named for family patriarch Mike's grandfather, Perry and father Alden, who shifted to the Bordeaux varietals in the early fifties, (60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, and 15% Cabernet Franc). 

Yates labels are produced in small quantity of less about 200 cases, including this Estate Cabernet Sauvignon that we tasted this evening of which only 98 cases were produced.

Here we are, shown with Mary Yates and her husband Todd Jones who manages sales and marketing for Yates.

We drank this with the Angeli's special Sausage and Pepper Pasta in garlic with shaved brussel sprouts and crushed red pepper. As a post course it was an ideal complement to the Butternut Squash Gnocci with its brown sugar sauce.

Yates Family Mount Veeder Redwoods Estate Vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 

The winemaker's notes on this release sum it up well. "Deep dark purple ruby in color shows the intensity of this varietal. Bold earthy aromas of eucalyptus, sweet cherry, blackberry, cedar stone, and bittersweet chocolate. Lusciously complex, this wine boasts of high toned fruits, cherries perfectly ripened in the sun, rose, leather, cinnamon, briar, wet stone with a hit of coriander. The finish is smooth and memorable."  

Wine Enthusiast gave this release 92 points in their September 2009 issue.

This was aged eighteen months in 35% new French oak.  

Producers notes on the 2006 vintage,  "2006 started off with heavy rains bringing in the New Year.  This wet weather lingered into spring. This caused the vines to grown energetically early, delaying bloom into June.  June’s weather started to warm, with dry conditions favoring fruit set.  July had some record heat which was followed by a moderate summer.  Harvest was delayed due to the wet spring and delayed bloom.  Total yield was slightly lower, with small berries that helped concentrate the flavors and enhance the fruit aromas creating intense wines with soft tannins for accessibility early but still possessing age ability for years to come."

At fourteen years of age, this is likely tasting at the apex of its drinking window. Tonight, this was consistent with our earlier tasting experience, dark deep inky purple color - complex and full bodied, the black berry and black cherry fruits were accented by dusty rose petals, tones of dark bittersweet chocolate, spice, and a layer of leather on a smooth tannin finish. 

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1106552 

https://www.yatesfamilyvineyard.com/

https://twitter.com/YatesFamilyWine 

@YatesFamilyWine 

As we did last week, once again, we ordered from the Angeli's wine list this interesting unique Italian white blend from Sicily. Both wines were sensational with this one an ideal accompaniment to the Angelis signature Boston Clam Chowder and the Butternut squash gnocci and Linda's entree, the Seared Ahi tuna.

Stemmari Dalila Sicilia Viognier Grillo DOC Blend 2016

This wine finds its way to the Angeli's winelist as a result of owner Tony Angeli having visited the winery estate during his visit to the region a couple years ago. 

 

This wine is from the Stemmari winery located in the town of Acate in the Ragusa province of Sicily located in south eastern Sicily. The winery has 1,700 acres in two estates along the south coast of Sicily, one in Sambuca di Sicilia in the Agrigento province and the other in Acate in the province of Ragusa.

 

The vast Stemmari brand has a broad portfolio of wines include single varietals like nero d’avola, chardonnay, pinot grigio, moscato, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon and even a sparkling grillo. They offer a few blends including this Dalila wine.

 

This unique blend is comprised of the Sicilian varietal Grillo and the international Viognier, native to the French Rhone River valley. The local indigenous wine grape "grillo" – which means "cricket" in Italian. This Sicilian white wine is composed of 80 percent grillo and 20 percent viognier.  

 

The interesting branding of music as a metaphor for the harmonizing of the two elegant varietals in the Dalila blend with musical notes on the label and on the bottle foil.

This was sensational and a very pleasant surprise discovery. Its available at a price point that provides great QPR - Quality Price Ratio. 

Straw colored, medium-full bodied, nicely balanced acidity and smooth mouthfeel with intense, bright vibrant, nicely integrated tropical fruits with notes of pear and hints of peach, apricot and citrus with tones of vanilla, floral and stone fruits with character and profile of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

RM 91 points.

https://www.stemmari.it/en-us/products/selections/dalila

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3521489

 Rubissow Mt Veeder Napa Valley Merlot 2006

 After dinner, back at home, we opened another label that we tasted and procured with Jan at the winery, Rubissow, high atop Mt Veeder during the same Napa Valley, Mt Veeder Appellation tour. 

We visited the Rubissow Estate and Vineyards, also high atop Mt Veeder and met proprietor, winemaker, producer George Rubissow.  The Rubissow hilltop vineyard is at the southern end of the Mt Veeder appellation looking south to Carneros with views in the distance of Mt Diablo to the west of San Francisco Bay and Mt Tamalpais in Marin to the north of the golden gate. 

The southern exposure and proximity to the San Pablo Bay moderates the climate of the site. 

 

From my earlier notes in a previous blogpost, "my recollection of this wine was the profile of the Yates Fleur de Veeder that we tasted next to this as reviewed above - full bodied with rich extracted fruit. Tonight this was leaner and lighter than I remembered and hence expected. I am looking ahead to trying this again as we still have a half case in the cellar."

Tonight's tasting was consistent with that earlier experience, this showed dark garnet purple color, medium body with black berry fruits, slightly tart black cherry with a hints of spice, tobacco, touch of mocha and coffee bean. 

This was a bit flabby and lacked structure and therefor was a bit underwhelming, perhaps due to comparison with the bigger, bolder, brighter Yates, reviewed above.

RM 87 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=872497

https://www.rubissowwines.com/ 

https://twitter.com/RubissowWines 

@RubissowWines