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.

After almost twenty years of experience vinifying the well-known Etna Rosso Serra della Contessa, 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 rain. Spring was warmer than average with some rain. June was dry, similar to summer. July had two weeks of intense heat, with temperatures up to 40 – 43 °C. August had heavy rain on the 15th, followed by isolated hailstorms in the southeast and southwest on the 20th. September began with periodic rain, then stayed hot until the third week, and rain returned at the end of the month. October was primarily rainy, with occasional sunny days.

In summary, the year was challenging and complex for the Etna region, especially during the harvest period due to continuous rain that allowed no break for grape harvesters. Those who managed well in the vineyard and selected the grapes received less wine, but of notable quality. Particularly, the white and rosé for short term, and reds for aging potential.

The grapes were hand-picked between late September and early October, de-stemmed and softly pressed. Fermentation occurs at a controlled temperature in stainless steel, with a long maceration, with an indigenous yeast selected in the vineyard by Benanti. Maturation mainly occurs in large barrels of French oak (15hl), for at least 24 months.

Ruby red with light tints of garnet. Notes of ethereal, intense, with hints of wild berries, spice and noble wood. On the palate, the wine was full, harmonic, mineral, considerably persistent and reasonably tannic.