Tre Bicchieri 2019 Previews. Sicily's best wines

Sicily's wines

The results of our annual tastings saw Sicily take home some 25 Tre Bicchieri, confirming the region’s current ‘state of grace’ when it comes to wine production. The island’s true forte lies in the impeccable stylistic definition of its wines, with its native grapes forming a critical part of the way in which its wines represents such markedly different terroir, each with its own peculiarities. And it’s precisely this variety, this charming diversity, that makes Sicily a winemaking region with such global appeal, and that’s allowed it to firmly establish itself as one of the most important on the planet. In short, the island is more of a continent. A good example is how different Trapani’s Nero d’Avola is from, say, Ragusa, or how the same grape can give rise to such different wines in Messina and Caltanissetta. And then there’s Etna, which reaffirms its excellence while elevating diversity and local identity, offering up wines with a host of different personalities, brought about by variations in soil, position and elevations. Once again this year it’s worth stressing the increasing reliance on the Doc Sicilia classification, a now internationally successful brand. By the end of 2017 almost 30 million Doc Sicilia wines had been bottled. By July of 2018 it was almost 50 million. And there’s more. In addition to the growth of Doc offerings, the average price per bottle has also increased, demonstrating the wisdom of those who had seen the classification as an opportunity to further develop the region. And now for the ‘new entries’ in the 2019 edition of Italian Wines, those producers who earned Tre Bicchieri for the first time. Trapani got the best out of its most famous grape, Nero d’Avola, with Cantine Mothia taking home top marks thanks to their 2015 Dedicato a Francesco, a wine with personality in spades. Next we move to Etna with two bonafide crus, Palmento Costanzo’s 2017 Etna Bianco di Sei, a vibrant and mineral-rich wine made with grapes from 100-year-old vineyards, and Tenute Bosco’s deep and elegant 2015 Vico Prephylloxera, made with grapes from a precious, pre-phylloxera vineyard. Finally, Sicilia gave us this edition’s Grower of the Year, Cottanera’s Francesco Cambria.

Alcamo Beleda '17 – Rallo

Cerasuolo di Vittoria Giambattista Valli Paris '16 – Feudi del Pisciotto

Dedicato a Francesco '15 – Cantine Mothia

Etna Bianco A' Puddara '16 – Tenuta di Fessina

Etna Bianco Alta Mora '17 – Alta Mora

Etna Bianco di Sei '17 – Palmento Costanzo

Etna Rosso '16 – Graci

Etna Rosso Cavanera Rovo delle Coturnie '14 – Firriato

Etna Rosso Contrada Rampante '16 – Pietradolce

Etna Rosso Feudo di Mezzo '16 – Girolamo Russo

Etna Rosso Trimarchisa '16 – Tornatore

Etna Rosso Vign. Monte Gorna Ris. '12 – Nicosia

Etna Rosso Vigna Vico '15 – Tenuta Bosco

Etna Rosso Zottorinoto Ris. '14 – Cottanera

Faro '16 – Le Casematte

Faro Palari '14 – Palari

Malvasia delle Lipari Passito '17 – Caravaglio

Menfi Syrah Maroccoli '14 – Planeta

Mille e una Notte '14 – Donnafugata

Sicilia Mandrarossa Cartagho '16 – Cantina Settesoli

Sicilia Nero d'Avola Sàgana '16 – Cusumano

Sicilia Nero d'Avola Saia '16 – Feudo Maccari

Sicilia Nero d'Avola Deliella '16 – Feudo Principi di Butera

Sicilia Nero d'Avola Lorlando '17 – Assuli

Sicilia Syrah Kaid '16 – Alessandro di Camporeale