Didacus ’14, 95 punti per Wine Advocate

This is a new wine made by Planeta in very limited numbers. The 2014 Sicilia Menfi Didacus is a pure expression of Chardonnay executed in a beautifully Burgundian style, complete with a sunny Sicilian twist. The wine shows precision and focus, yet it offers a generous array of stone fruit and floral aromas along the way. As the wine takes on more weight in the glass, it begins to reveal rounder and more opulent tones of Sicilian almond, candied fruit, orange peel, anise seed, and salty mineral tones that recall the soft sea breezes that wash gently over Menfi in the southern part of the island. This special edition (only 6,996 bottles were produced) is dedicated to Diego Planeta, the wise patriarch of this important wine family. As a young child, Didacus was his nickname. Four hectares of Chardonnay (clone R8) were originally planted in 1985 and the vineyard saw several replanting and regrafting efforts over the years. The oldest vines have been marked and fruit for this wine represents a section of the best cluster from the oldest vines. The wine is aged in a combination of old and new barrique (80% new and 20% one-year-old medium toast) from Nevers, Vosges and Allier. The wine’s generous Sicilian spirit reminds me of another ironic white: the Planeta 2001 Cometa (made with the Fiano grape).