Carricante is one of the most exciting white grape varieties in southern Italy, capable of impressive complexity and a great deal of terroir-influenced expression when grown in the right soil. The name Carricante supposedly comes from the variety's high yield: "caricare" means "to load", meaning that one can (or rather: could) load many grapes onto the hanger during the harvest. The autochthonous variety is actually grown almost exclusively in eastern Sicily in the province of Catania on the slopes of Mount Etna. It is authorised in the Etna and Sicilia DOC wines. There are also some small areas of cultivation on the Aeolian Islands, e.g. on Lipari.
In the meantime, it had almost disappeared from the scene of the wine world, as there were only 205 hectares left in the last statistics in 2010. However, as companies such as Tenuta delle Terre Nere, Tasca d'Almerita, Planeta, Cusumano, Graci, Benanti and many smaller producers around Etna have invested heavily in recent years and have lovingly recultivated old, long-abandoned small vineyards (contrade) around the volcano at up to 1,100 metres above sea level, it can be assumed that the downward trend has been halted. Nevertheless – there is not much of it and the elegant, volcanic-mineral wines from 100% Carricante have now reached a remarkable level of quality and are therefore sought after by wine lovers all over the world.
Carricante ripens quite late, is high-yielding and shines straw yellow in the glass. On the nose, there are often hints of citrus fruit, mint, apples, banana and often notes of aniseed and chalk. On the palate, the grape delights with fine acidity, moderate alcohol, a velvety texture and a complex mineral finish. The wines have impressive energy, length and crisp freshness – no glass stays full for long.
We now offer well over 100 wines from Etna, including many brilliant white wines made from 100% Carricante. Due to the far too small production quantities, you will unfortunately look in vain for these even on well-stocked wine lists. Have fun discovering these rare beauties. SUPERIORE.DE
