2018 Planeta 'Didacus' Chardonnay Sicily

"Tasting through the Planeta portfolio is like a master class in Sicilian wine. What’s even more impressive to me is the level of quality and value that Planeta, as large as they are, continue to deliver. The fact is that a consumer can lose themselves in this portfolio, and it would be a highly pleasurable experience tasting their way back out." ~Vinous Media

Planeta is one of the most iconic, and well known producers in Sicily. Fun fact? The winery was even featured in the critically acclaimed TV Show The White Lotus.

Alessio Planeta, head of Planeta, has been named "Winemaker of the Year" worldwide by the prestigious Wine Enthusiast magazine through their "Wine Star Awards" in 2023. 

The family history of this Sicilian Estate goes back for more than 5 centuries, where in such a closed and traditional culture, the Planeta family is not afraid to innovate and modernize.Diego Planeta along with other top-notch wine consultants from Italy like Giacomo Tachis, Carlo Corino, Giampaolo Fabris, and Attilio Scienza,have managed to position Planeta as the reference point in Sicilian and Italian winemaking.Discover what makes Planeta one of Sicily's leading producers!

Their vineyards are distributed throughout 5 different regions around Sicily:Menfi, Etna, Vittoria, Noto, and Capo Milazzo, resulting in an incredibly interesting wine portfolio: Different soils, different climates, different grapes, different (and incredible) wines! And if that wasn't enough,the family also owns a hotel and a restaurant in Menfi and Palermo.

100% Chardonnay.  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.

"Noi siamo bianchisti," Alessio Planeta tells me during a Zoom call to present this wine. That affirmation translates as: "We are white wine makers." The Planeta 2018 Sicilia Menfi Chardonnay Didacus is a crowning achievement for a landmark Sicilian winery that has already proved its mettle with a long and illustrious library collection of Chardonnay, Fiano and Carricante-based whites, among others. All the knowledge and experience amassed over the decades has resulted in this latest project, Didacus, dedicated to the family patriarch Diego Planeta who sadly left us last year. This stunning wine certainly puts Planeta in the running for one of the best Chardonnays made in Italy. It is tirelessly creamy and rich, with an abundant bouquet expressed with apricot, honey, star jasmine, crushed rock and sweet Sicilian almond. From a cool vintage, the aromas are fine and pinpoint in their intensity, unfolding like a long story told chapter by chapter. The big takeaway here is the Mediterranean, purely Sicilian character of this wine. It is generous, embracing, noble and strong. I enthusiastically recommend this bottle to lovers of age-worthy Chardonnay. ~96+ Robert Parker's Wine Advocate.

With a golden hue and a rich bouquet to match, the 2018 Chardonnay Didacus presents aromas of hazelnut and crushed almond before blossoming further with layers of sweet peach, young mango and honeysuckle. It’s silky in texture and lifted in feel, balancing ripe nectarine, apple and an inner air of custard against cooling acids and pretty inner florals. From its bouquet, you might expect a beast; instead, what you find is a beauty, as the Didacus Chardonnay tapers off clean and refined with hints of tropical citrus and a subtle tug of framing tannins. You might not think to look to Sicily for world-class Chardonnay, but in this case, you’d be missing out. The Didacus is from a five-hectare parcel planted in 1985 along the sides of a valley in Menfi. Only 6,900 bottles were produced. ~94 Vinous Media

A richly fragrant white, showing a fine range of apple tarte Tatin, pastry cream, baked pineapple, lime blossom and toast aromas and flavors. Medium- to full-bodied, buoyed by light, finely knit acidity that keeps the creamy, spicy finish well-cut and focused. Chardonnay. Drink now through 2026. 583 cases made, 50 cases imported. ~91 Wine Spectator

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