THE WINERY: Winemaking in the Benanti family can be traced back to the late 1800s in Viagrande. This deep-rooted passion for wine is what led Giuseppe Benanti to establish the namesake winery in 1988.

THE WINE: After almost thirty years of experience vinifying the well-known Etna Rosso Rovittello, in 2015 Benanti decided to aim for new heights by focusing exclusively on the small, pre-phylloxera portion of the vineyard and extending the wine’s vinification, maturation and refining period to 60 months, thereby creating this new, exclusive Etna Rosso Riserva produced in a very limited quantity.

Winter was cold with little rainfall. Spring was warmer than usual with occasional rain. June had a summery and dry climate. July experienced scorching heat for 15 days, with temperatures peaking at 40-43 °C. On the 15th of August, there was heavy rainfall, followed by limited hailstorms in some areas of the southeast and southwest on the 20th. In conclusion, the year was challenging and complicated in the Etna region, especially during the harvest period. Continuous rains made it difficult for grape harvesters. Those who worked well in the vineyard and selected grapes obtained a smaller quantity of wine, but of interesting quality. The white and rosé wines are promising in the short term, while the reds have the aging potential.

Grapes are hand-picked in the last 10 days of October, de-stemmed, and softly pressed. Fermentation occurs at a controlled temperature in stainless steel vats, with a 20-21 days-long maceration, using an indigenous yeast selected in the vineyard by Benanti after years of experimentation.

Pale ruby red with light tints of garnet. Ethereal, intense, delicate scent with hints of ripe fruit, chestnut flowers, and noble wood. Elegant and fine tannins, balanced, remarkably persistent on the tongue.