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The mid-weight Donnafugata 2019 Sicilia Nero d’Avola Sherazade is rich and softly textured with blackberry and dried plum. There is a lot about this wine that reminds me of a Syrah with soft tannins and a rich embroidery of ripe fruit flavors with spice and tobacco. Even the wine’s name recalls the eastern roots of this well-traveled Mediterranean variety that shares much in common with Sicily’s Nero d’Avola, but some burnt hazelnut aromas and black olive remind you of the wine’s true all-Sicilian DNA. This vintage offers especially good value.

Zibibbo is the Sicilian name for Muscat of Alexandria. Executed in a dry style, the Donnafugata 2020 Sicilia Zibibbo Lighea is softly floral and fragrantwith honeysuckle and perfumed star jasmine that is appropriately called Sicilian jasmine in Italy. This easy, lean-bodied wine has the acidity to cut through fried olives or eggplant balls with mint and breadcrumbs. You get so much easy charm in this bottle.

Strahlend helles Goldgelb. Offenherzig im Duft nach getrockneten Rosenblättern, kandierte Orangen, ein Hauch Muskat, im Zweiten Anriechen helles Karamell. Im Antrunk geschmeidig, zeigt schönen Schliff, öffnet sich auf Datteln und kandierte Frucht, im Abgang animierend saftig, trinkt sich sehr gut!

Funkelndes, sattes Rotgold. Intensive und fein gezeichnete Nase, zeigt im Vordergrund ansprechende würzige Noten nach Tannennadeln und getrockneten Orangenschalen, dann viel gedörrte Marille, etwas Feigen. Spielt am Gaumen großartig auf, präsente, klar wahrnehmbare Süße, zugleich aber auch frische Komponenten, angenehm trinkbar, hallt lange nach.

Donnafugata’s 2017 Etna Rosso Contrada Montelaguardia Fragore hails from a gorgeous vineyard site in Randazzo with the smoking crater of Etna visible in the background. This wine is perfumed and almost understated, and this comes as surprise, given the scorching hot conditions of this vintage. But those floral perfumes with rose bud and lavender are unmistakable. The wine ends on a soft, silky note.

From Donnafugata’s relatively new winery on Mount Etna, the 2018 Etna Bianco Sul Vulcano shows mineral notes or crushed rock and volcanic ash that are delicately interwoven with white peach and Anjou pear. That characteristic sweet versus salty side to Carricante is one of the most enduring and charming traits of this promising white grape. It’s a classic appetizer wine for steamed clams and mussels.

Situated in a natural amphitheatre, the Marchesa contrada (2ha at 750m altitude) enjoys a sunny and breezy microclimate, thanks to its exposure. The Nerello Mascalese vines are over 80 years old, and produced just 5,336 bottles and 208 magnums of this 2018 release. Like the other cru wine (Fragore), the wine has been aged for 14 months in second- and third-use oak barrels, and aged in bottle for a further 18 months. If Fragore is about dark fruits, this is more red fruit in profile. It has a gorgeous, lifted, aromatic quality, with aromas of raspberry, cherry, violet and herbs. There’s depth and complexity behind the primary fruit, with spicy oak kicking in too, and the trademark Etna minerality. This will continue to evolve over five years or more. Drinking Window 2021 – 2028

Funkelndes, leicht aufhellendes Rubinrot. Komplexes Aromenspiel von reifen Herzkirschen, Johannisbeere, Teeblätter, etwas Lakritze, im Hintergrund Thymian, leicht jodig. Trifft saftig auf den Gaumen, zeigt sich lebendig im Trunk, mit schöner Harmonie und Druck, wirkt feingliedrig und hält sich lange am Gaumen.

The Montelaguardia contrada (4ha at 730m altitude) is protected by forests from climatic extremes and is milder than the Marchesa contrada (Donnafugata’s other Etna cru wine). Production is tiny: just over 3,000 bottles and 51 magnums. The wine, 100% Nerello Mascalese, is aged in second- and third-use French oak for 14 months, before a further 18 months bottle ageing. 2018 was a cooler, rainier than average vintage on Etna, and the wine has great freshness and energy, with dark fruit character (blackberries and forest fruits) and a sous bois dimension. A twist of black pepper too. It’s mineral, structured and has tannic grip, complementing the perfumed finesse. Would be a great match for pheasant and other game, or Peking duck.