The Wines

Massimo LentschEtna Bianco DOC

Our first Etna Bianco is born from the vineyards of Feudo Gabelle, adjacent to an ancient palmento where the new cellar is located.

The head trained vines are exposed to the north, at an altitude of about 600 meters above sea level which favors the optimal evolution of the aromatic profile, while the soils have a heterogeneous composition, being characterized by stony alluvial soils in the lower part and sandy, rich of lava blocks and volcaniclastic deposits in the upper part. Here we cultivate the Carricante which, vinified alone, becomes our Etna Bianco DOC.

Massimo LentschEtna Rosso DOC

The experience and the dream of Etna every day, in a glass of wine

The greatest quality of Etna Rosso is perhaps that of being able to be both a complex wine, with many olfactory and taste tissues – as well as being able to age in the versions designed for it since the yield in the vineyard and with aging in wood – is a wine with a prompt and sincere drink, perfect for everyday life, without necessarily having to exceed in interpretations and sophisms around it. In all seasons.

Massimo LentschEtna Rosso DOC
Feudo di Mezzo

From a centenary ungrafted vineyard, a pure expression of the North side

Arranged on several terraces embanked by dry lava stone walls and trained as a sapling, the Cosentino vineyard – located in the prestigious contrada Feudo di Mezzo, represents the most authentic expression of Etna viticulture in its only 1.35 hectares.

Massimo LentschEtna Rosato DOC

A bright and romantic pink wine, dedicated to those who love unconditionally

It is now undoubted that Nerello Mascalese is capable of producing one of the most popular Sicilian wines and of the entire Italian wine scene in general, Etna Rosso DOC. A variety with such precious characteristics, however, could only give rosé wines of great pleasure, versatile and above all able to let you imagine the sound and scent of the sea, which is not so far from Muntagna.

Massimo LentschCarricante IGT

A vertical wine that recalls the origins of a volcano born from underwater eruptions

The grapes for the production of our Carricante come from some small sapling plots surrounded by the Nebrodi mountains and the Etna volcano, mostly located at about 600 meters above sea level. This gorgeous wine, elegant and rich in hints of citrus and Mediterranean herbs, takes the most from constant breezes that blow from the valley, guaranteeing significant temperature variations between day and night, allow perfect maturation and the enhancement of the organoleptic parameters of this ancient grape variety.

A contemporary story

A brief description of the vintages (from 2016 to the present)

2016

VintageA harsh winter with few rains was followed by a spring characterized by mild days and temperatures above the seasonal average; this weather pattern brought forward the vegetative growth by a few days ahead of the historical average. From June until August warm days and the lack of rainfall led to a major advance in the early stages of ripening of the grapes. After the end of August some rains and the lowering of temperatures it has presented to the grapes the possibility to lengthen the maturation and allowed to reach a good degree of ripeness maintaining freshness and fragrance. 2016 vintage is definitely one of the best in recent years for harmony and subtlety, a year where elegance prevails on concentration.

2017

Vintage2017 began much like the finish of the 2016 vintage, with a rainy autumn and an early winter with cold temperatures; this resulted in a delayed development of foliage by about two weeks. However, spring had favorable weather conditions which completely canceled the delay in the vegetative phases of the plants. Hot temperatures and sudden changes in temperature characterized a particularly dry summer, although in proportion less than what was simultaneously happening in Central and Northern Italy. Surely the 2017 vintage was complicated from this point of view, however the slowdown of the vegetation due to the scarcity of water received from the vines, combined with a targeted and precise viticulture, allowed Nerello Mascalese to produce wines that are neither overripe nor too high in alcohol content.

2018

VintageAfter the previous vintage's drought, the winter was characterized by low temperatures and in many cases abundant snowfall. This trend resulted in a delay of bud break by about 10 days later than average. Even during the flowering stage, there was frequently rainfall and cool temperatures; this resulted in a limited and already naturally balanced production load. The vegetation developed well despite the initial delay through to veraison and ripening. This delay persisted even with the harvest that took place about 14 days later than the average of previous years and has been characterized by much precipitation, even during August and September. In the final stages of the harvest the climate stabilized and this allowed an extended ripening and harvest of grapes with good aromatic properties.

2019

VintageAfter two almost opposite vintages, 2019 turned out to be a typical Etna vintage, with slight rainfall also recorded in summer on the vineyards that are located over 600 meters above sea level, and with the usual temperature changes between day and the night. This helped refresh the grapes and enhance their aromaticity, in particular for the Nerello Mascalese, which was harvested in the second ten days of October. The resulting wines are fragrant and with very fine and integrated tannins, and above all with a great evolutionary potential.

2020

VintageIn all seasons of the 2020 vintage we recorded a regular trend of vegetation and ripening. It is one of those vintages in which it is sufficient to simply observe the evolution of Nature, and accompany it until the days of the harvest. The climatic conditions on the Northern slope, always well ventilated and except from excessive rainfall, allowed us to obtain a slow and perfect ripening of the grapes, including skins and pips. We started harvesting Nerello Mascalese on the 20th of October. The wines of this vintage will be of the highest quality and finesse.

2021

VintageThe winter was not particularly harsh except for a brief and sudden frost in March which fortunately did not cause serious damage to our vineyards; during the spring and summer the vines were severely tested by the heat and drought which resulted in considerable hydric stress, mitigated only by the cool breezes typical of the Northern slope. In autumn, with the arrival of the rains, the vines recovered and the clusters ripened prematurely thanks to the mild temperatures and the significant temperature variations between day and night. All these conditions and the careful and constant measurement of the sugar content of the grapes, led us to decide to harvest each variety a few days earlier than usual, to safeguard its freshness and prevent the alcoholic strength of the wine from rising, so as to keep correct also acidity and pH, in addition to the desired phenolic and aromatic ripeness.

2022

VintageA decidedly dry season until mid-August, until the almost constant rainfall in the following weeks reinvigorated the vines and completed a vegetative cycle that otherwise would have suffered greatly from the scorching temperatures. The green harvest, especially on the younger and more vigorous vineyards, meant that for a variety like Carricante - which is indeed productive but also very crunchy and acidic - physiological ripening was reached in perfect timing with the usual standards for the varietal, which is never precocious like other grapes of the area (for example Moscato Bianco or Grecanico). The result should be a very harmonious Etna Bianco 2022 with aromatic complexity. Even Nerello Mascalese is not a variety that is harvested in September, on the contrary, this year too we have reached the second ten days of October to bring it to vinification, so it has had more time to reinvigorate itself after the dry summer. The luck for the vineyards of Feudo di Mezzo, where some vines are also prephylloxera, is that winds blow there which clean and refresh the vineyards when the sun goes down, also acting as a natural treatment for the vines. In fact, it's a bit of a non-secret on the northern side