Pollux Membership June 2024: Island Fever and Sand through the Hourglass
Rows of vines on Tenuta Castellaro’s estate vineyard-note the Albarello system of freestanding plants.
“Island Fever”
Tenuta di Castellaro White Blend “Pomice Bianco”, IGT Terre Siciliane 2022
Island Fever (n). “A psychological distress, dysfunction, or disorder that causes significant stress, abnormal thoughts and feelings in people who are temporarily or permanently staying or living on islands”.
By all accounts, the sometimes-claustrophobic feeling of being at the ends of the earth is a real thing, and many islanders feel this clinging sense of disconnection, which is ironic as most non-native island dwellers would have sought out that sense of isolation to begin with. If it is true that the onset of an island fever case is disproportionate to the size of the island you are on, a land mass of less than 35 square miles ought to bring about a relatively quick affliction, but in the case of this month’s destination…well, at least there’s wine. Welcome to Lipari, the principal island of the Aeolian archipelago, stretching clawlike away from northeast Sicily’s Mount Etna region.
A truly terrible locale: Tenuta di Castellaro, Lipari, at sunset.
I don’t mean to overly exaggerate Lipari’s remoteness in some sort of “Thoreau was marooned on Walden Pond” overreach; the island’s population is 10,000 and multiple ferry connections from Sicily stop here; indeed, Lipari is the natural home base to explore the rest of the Aeolian islands. Over 200,000 tourists make their way here each season (thankfully not at once), craving the island’s colors: the turquoise waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea, the facades of the houses (they are whitewashed and any new construction is required to follow suit), the fishermen’s boats, and the light-colored volcanic rock that is the pervading soil type: pumice, a solidified lava. Beyond the obvious beauty that Lipari has to offer, this is the calling card for wine geeks, as the lightweight pumice (formed from lava foamed by water vapor and CO2) is water-retentive and excellent for viticulture: the most obvious example is the Greek island of Santorini, which was formed entirely from a volcanic explosion. Here in the Aeolian (governed by the Messina province of Sicily), the pumice functions in much the same way, but unlike the mineral citrus of Greece’s Assyrtiko grape, the aromatic, delicately fruited white variety Muscat is the main focus, so much so that the island’s white DOC appellation is reserved for the grape (our featured wine here, with a high proportion of the mainland Sicily varietal Carricante in the blend, forces the wine to be labeled with the regional IGT Terre Siciliane designation).
Restricting urban development and preserving the island’s history while at the same time promoting rising place as a wine producer is no simple task and requires ample resources and a commitment to the island’s purity. Enter Bergamo-based entrepreneurs Massimo Lentsch and Stefania Frattolillo and their stunning winery, Tenuta di Castellaro.
The striking cellar of Tenuta de Castellaro-total production at the winery is just 5,800 cases spread across all of their cuvees.
On the northwest side of the island at 350 meters above sea level resides the culmination of two lifetimes spent loving Lipari’s environs and culture; founded in 2005, the Tenuta di Castellaro site boasts views of lower Lipari and the Aeolian island of Salina to the north, and takes full advantage of both the windy conditions and strong diurnal temperature swings, aerating their organic, indigenous grapes and mitigating the warm Mediterranean climate. Limited land begats limited production levels, and the entire output of Castellaro is 5,800 cases divided amongst all of their cuvees. The viticultural team consists of consulting agronomist Alessandro Zanutta and consulting winemaker Emiliano Falsini, both of whom boast international credentials that have helped hone their experience. The training system of the vines, called Albarello (“little tree”), where freestanding plants grow deep-rooted into the volcanic Pumice, is another distinctive and time-honored practice.
On the island of Lipari, there can only be one name to a wine that is meant to be your flagship white, and the “Pomice” changed the winery’s fortunes from the first vintage in 2008. Despite the wine’s status as a core bottling, it is just the third-most produced of their bottlings and checks in at less than 1,000 cases annually. The aforementioned Malvasia delle Lipari makes up 60% of the finished wine, but the high percentage of the mainland Sicily varietal Carricante (famous in the white wines of Mount Etna DOC) transforms the “Pomice” from just another aromatic island wine to one with salty, mineral verve as well.
To paraphrase John Donne, perhaps “no wine is an island”, but with a glass of “Pomice” in hand, it’s hard not to feel a sense of encapsulation, as if all that the island of Lipari is and should be is filtered through this beautiful “citrus and salt” wine. I suddenly find my existence to be the claustrophobic one, and the thought of visiting this magical place and staying at Tenuta di Castellaro achingly freeing. A worse predicament: my “mainland fever” or island fever? I hope that I’m afforded the opportunity to find out-D.
Tenuta di Castellaro White Blend “Pomice Bianco”, IGT Terre Siciliane 2022
Country of Origin: Italy.
Places and People: Tenuta di Castellaro is located on the island of Lipari, in the Aeolian Islands. An archipelago that stretches between Mount Vesuvius and Mount Etna, the Aeolian Islands feature sun, wind, and volcanic soil, and Lipari is no exception. Castellaro was founded in 2005 and has quickly become renowned for their quality and their enotourism. The “Pomice” (a cognate of pumice, or solidified lava) is all estate fruit, but it takes the regional IGT Terre Siciliane label because of the larger portion of the main Etna white variety, Carricante, in the blend (Lipari’s DOC is for Malvasia).
Soil: The island’s famed “Pomice”: Pumice, a lightcolored, volcanic soil that is sandy and deep, rich in microbes. Solidified lava that is formed from the foaming of the lava with water vapor and CO2, Pumice is distinct from other volcanic soils in its light weight.
Grape Varieties: 60% Malvasia delle Lipari, 40% Carricante.
Winemaking: Manually harvested with indigenous yeasts from freestanding grapevines. The grapes are directly pressed (pneumatic press) and fermented under temperature control. The Malvasia is fermented in stainless steel and the Carricante in neutral barrels (3rd and 4th year passage). Both grapes receive batonnage and approximately 6 months of lees contact.
Aging: The “Pomice” spends 6 months in the two grapes’ respective vessels (steel for Malvasia and neutral oak for Carricante). Rather than being fined and filtered, is clarified naturally by racking the wine in and out of its aging vessel several times.
Flavors and Foods: The 2022 “Pomice” has a nose of Mediterranean herbs, sea salt, and citrus. The aromatic Malvasia grape is responsible for notes of fresh lychee, passionfruit, and pine resin, while the Carricante brings preserved lemon and a trademark saline mineral note. Texturally refreshing and juicy, but with a slight spritz from the acidity of the Carricante. Pair with more exotic seafood items: eel (but without the sugary sushi glaze, please), anything you’d find on a raw shellfish tower, local Mid-Atlantic striped bass (rockfish) with lots of fresh herbs.
Service and Cellar: If you enjoy the floral and aromatic aspects of the Malvasia in the “Pomice”, by all means feel free to cellar: these traits will deepen with age and the 2022 could comfortably last 8-10 years in total. If the refreshing qualities the Carricante brings are more your style, enjoy this wine now and in the ensuing 1-2 years. White wine cellar temperature (48-52 degrees F) is integral to the “Pomice” being at its best.
“From the root to the fruit”: a bottle of Aetneus in the vineyard from which it is obtained, the Contrada Moganazzi house.
“Sand through the Hourglass”
I Custodi delle Vigne Red Blend “Aetnus”, Etna Rosso DOC, Sicily, Italy 2017
As a person, my main flaw (although there are boatloads to choose from) comes from the anxiety I have brought on by the passing of time. I am constantly aware of all the things that I have to accomplish today, the plans I dream of executing tomorrow, and the dreams I hope to realize in the future. Just as equally comes the foreboding feeling/knowledge that I won’t be able to finish all of these tasks prior to the day being over, to the next passing by, and so on until I will reach the end of my time in this life with no small tinge of regret. One could argue that setting appropriate expectations is in order for me, but I will mercifully end this dime-store psychoanalysis by simply stating that no matter my or any of our fears, real or perceived, of being hemmed in by the undefeated Father Time, we all could find some perspective by taking comfort that we are not winemakers on Sicily’s Mount Etna.
Imagine for a moment the sheer will/adventurous spirit/reckless insanity that it takes to know that your (in all likelihood) life’s passion, not to mention the whole of your livelihood/investment is taking place in a potentially lethal area. In the shadow of one of the world’s most active volcanoes is a thriving winemaking scene that has reversed decades of bulk production and course-corrected a mindset centered on productivity alone. And yet, it could be all over in an instant.
Mario Paoluzi, owner of I Custodi delle Vigne.
The most recent activity on Mount Etna was just last winter, and even counting the number of significant eruptions from, say, the last fifteen-plus years can have you running out of fingers (and toes) quickly. Time has allowed Etna to be a viticultural Mecca since antiquity, but the shadow nevertheless remains, and like sand through a sieve, one day time could run out.
Ok, I hear you-I will cease this doomsday fearmongering and focus on the time that Etna has been given, which is, well considerable.
Settled 20,000 years before the birth of Jesus, colonized by the Greeks who passed on their worship of the wine God Dionysos that would become the Romans’ Bacco, Etna, like Sicily as a whole, has been a marker of time in the wine world and beyond; it was an Etna wine that lulled Odysseus’ Cyclops to sleep in Homer’s Odyssey. The timelessness that it takes for a region to become mythological makes references to 100-year-old “old vines” seem a little silly, but today’s Mount Etna, and the renaissance of artisan wine producers that makes it so exciting, is defined by time. The reclamation of older vines from industrial-minded vineyards, and the planting of new, more ambitious ones, searching ever higher up the volcano’s slopes in the shadow of the furnace in an attempt to mitigate temperatures and buy more time before having to harvest, are but two of the ways in which Mount Etna winemaking is racing against the clock.
When faced with a ticking time bomb as a constant threat to vineyards and your own safety, perhaps the best defense is letting go of a real proprietary mindset. Rather than claiming vineyards as your own (metaphorically speaking and modern legalities aside) and being devastated if disaster were to occur, one could make the argument that the only proper name to give yourself in a place where time and nature, perhaps more than anywhere else in the world, dictate the very existence of your vineyards, is that of a custodian, someone who acts as a steward or caretaker but knows that, in the end, it’s out of their hands. This idea of a partnership between themselves and the land gave us exactly that: I Custodi Delle Vigne.
The centenarian vines that produce “Aetneus” are grown on the north side of the omnipresent Mount Etna.
Founded in 2007, I Custodi is owned by Mario Paluzzi, who recruited renowned Etna oenologist Salvo Foti (creator of the association of winemakers I Vigneri, who specialize in ecologically sound representations of this terroir in the shadow of the tallest volcano in Europe) to work with him on establishing an estate that could be known as one of the greats. Whereas much of the wine of Etna DOC is produced on the eastern slopes of the volcano, I Custodi’s winery and the majority of their 12 hectares of holdings are located on the northern side, where the climate is cooler and the presence of the more noble red variety Nerello Mascalese (the more tannic, structured and ageworthy sibling to its fleshier counterpart, Nerello Cappuccio) is greater.
The winery is distinguished by its single vineyard sites, or contrada. Their contrade are rich in old vines that evoke the millenia this mountain has been cultivated and threaten to upturn time’s stranglehold on the Mount Etna narrative: the Feudo di Mezzo vineyard produces their Saeculari cuvee, made up of vines that are exclusively 150 years old or more. At 700 meters elevation, the Moganazzi Casa and vineyard is an equally seductive site, with 100-year-old vines of mainly Nerello Mascalase grown on volcanic soil and its accompanying sand, called Sabbioso. The flagship old vine red from this plot, often released after no less than six years in the bottle, is fittingly called Aetnus.
The adherence to biodynamic principles at I Custodi are accompanied by an ambition to have the cellaring work partially done for us; the extended elevage is a hallmark and makes the 2017 “Aetnus” offered to Pollux Members one of the most current releases (the 2018 has just now hit the market, but I prefer this vintage). 80% destemmed fruit brings this Nerello Mascalese-dominant blend a freshness that belies its texture. A genetic relative to Sangiovese, this grape that is named for the Mascalese commune east of Etna is brimming with dark, unctuous cherry fruit, beautiful secondary notes of clove and cinammon (not from barrel, as the wine is aged in large 500 liter casks), and the dry earthy mid-palate that heralds the wine’s volcanic and sand terroir. Production is small-around 833 cases of “Aetnus” are made each year. This year, the wine was only made available in Virginia by special order, so I jumped at the chance to be one of the few accounts to receive some. In that sense, perhaps my fear of being outlasted by time was a good thing; while not understanding what it means to risk literal life and limb for my art, I can only pass along the story of vignerons like Mario and Salvo, and hope that in the company of a bottle of Aetnus we can all enjoy the Sabbioso sands flowing through our wineglass rather than the hourglass-D.
I Custodi delle Vigne Red Blend “Aetnus”, Etna Rosso DOC, Sicily, Italy 2017
Country of Origin: Italy.
Places and People: I Custodi delle Vigne was founded in 2007 by owner Mario Paoluzi, who recruited renowned Mount Etna oenologist and winemaker Salvo Foti to craft his wines. Known for their location on the northern slopes of Etna, their prized plots of 100+year old red vines, and their commitment to ecology and extended elevage prior to release, I Custodi has become one of the most important producers in the Etna DOC. The Aetnus cuvee is crafted from the single vineyard contrada of Moganazzi Casa on the Northern Slopes of Etna. The vines for Aetnus are solely 100-year-old+ and production is limited at 833 cases.
Soil: Volcanic obsidian and the famous Sabbioso sand, turning the ground red.
Grape Varieties: 80% Nerello Mascalese, 20% Nerello Cappuccio.
Winemaking: The “Aetnus” is hand-harvested from those centenarian vines at the outset of October, with 80% of the grapes destemmed and punch-downs performed during the 12-day maceration period. Following that, the wine is moved into 500-liter tonneaux barrels, where the malolactic fermentation occurs.
Aging: The 2017 “Aetnus” is the matured in these same used tonneaux for 18 months prior to bottling. In accordance with the winery’s program, a minimum 12 months in bottle are required prior to release, with the 2017 vintage going a full six years in total aging prior to its release in 2023.
Flavors and Foods: The 2017 “Aetnus” from I Custodi is a splendid example of Nerello Mascalese; the nose showcases a dark cherry fruit that is at once insipid and unctuous, with beautiful secondary aromas of rose petal, peppercorn, and pumpernickel bread. The palate reminds us of Mascalese’s genetic relationship to Sangiovese, with cherries again the dominant fruit, along with savory non-fruit (pumpernickel, peppercorn salame) and tannic structure-the main difference being that the “Aetnus” fruit is darker, the cherries tasting more brandied or like kirsch liqueur. The concentration of the wine, and the way that it expands mid-palate, are a testament to the truly special older, lower-yield vines. The finish of the 2017 is not intense, and as a result the wine is actually more versatile than you might expect when pairing foods: seared tuna with black olive, spice-rubbed lamb rack, tenderloin beef cuts (filet mignon, chateaubriand), and a plate of bloomy and washed-rind cheeses are all ideas that have me salivating.
Service and Cellar: The “Aetnus” is best enjoyed at red wine cellar temperature (58-62 degrees F). While the 2017 opens easily after maturing at the winery, its structure still wants for a shorter decanting for aeration’s sake (30 mins). The dark, inky freshness of the wine’s fruit and sparkling acidity has me confident that a 15-year lifespan for this wine will be easily reached; enjoy now through 2032.