Pieter “Bubbles” Ferreira – South Africa’s most celebrated Cap Classique winemaker – retired from Graham Beck in January 2026 after 37 years at the helm, having joined in 1990 and crafted the estate’s traditional-method sparkling wines from its maiden vintage. Alongside his career at Graham Beck, he and his wife Ann quietly built their own eponymous project, Pieter Ferreira Cap Classique, releasing their first wines from the 2012 vintage, with Ann formally owning the brand while Pieter acted as winemaker.
Now fully retired from Graham Beck, Pieter continues this new chapter with Ann focusing solely on their own brand that will soon become five cuvées with the release of a Blanc de Noirs – a fitting next act for the man synonymous with South African Cap Classique bubbles.
Pieter “Bubbles” Ferreira
Pieter Ferreira Cap Classique Blanc de Blancs Brut 2012, WO Westetn Cape, 12% Abv.
Having recently tasted my last bottle of Graham Beck Blanc de Blancs 2012 made by Pieter Ferreira, I was desperate to taste his own label, maiden release equivalent. So I cracked a bottle with a friend who I had shared the Graham Beck 2012 with, and we were not disappointed. My friends first comment on nosing his glass, even before tasting, was WOW! This smashes most Champagnes! Firstly, the colour is much lighter and brighter with a lemon peel gold yellow colour and pristine aromatics of glazed salted brioche, waxy apple skins and yellow grapefruit pith. The palate is beautifully composed – compact, fresh and incredibly youthful and vibrant showing a twang of saline briney sourdough complexity with hints of apple strudel, chamomile tea, lime cordial and tart toffee apples on the finish. So intense, creamy, vibrant and complex. A stunning wine by any international yardstick! Drink now to 2034.
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Pieter Ferreira wines are imported into the UK by RAKQ Wines.
Duncan Savage has developed a reputation for his elegant, pure, age worthy and thrilling red and white wines produced in his urban cellar in Salt River, Cape Town. Duncan spent 14 years cutting his teeth as winemaker at Cape Point Vineyards, creating saline Sauvignon Blancs and grapefruit-laden Semillons from the cool coastal sites of Noordhoek. In 2011 he produced his first Savage red vintage under his own label followed by his first Savage White Blend in 2012. Working with coastal and high-elevation single sites across the Western Cape, Duncan has always followed a simple mantra: “do as little as possible, as much as you can” to preserve the purest expression of place.
Over a decade of producing premium quality wines have now made Duncan’s wines some of the most sought-after in South Africa… but also some of the most reasonably priced fine wines. I recently caught up with Duncan in May 2026 in London to taste through his new 2025s pre-release, and then again in August in Cape Town over dinner at Aubergine Restaurant, to catch up on all his latest developments.
Duncan Savage Salt River Sauvignon Blanc 2025, 13.5% Abv.
Made from three Sauvignon Blanc parcels, but soon to be four, this 2025 is a delicious expression with rich layers of white citrus, yellow grapefruit and Cape gooseberry with back grown aromatic hints of cut grass and Granitic mineral spice. Intense, concentrated and beautifully harmonious. This is very classy and one of his best Salt River Sauvignons to date. Drink now to 2032+.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Savage Wines Savage White Blend 2025, 13.5% Abv.
The 2025 blend is 71% Sauvignon Blanc, 29% Semillon from the Overberg, Stellenbosch and Villiersdorp, matured for 11 months in 500 litre barrels, of which 20% was new, together with some concrete eggs. The wine is bold and aromatic with exotic notes of white peaches, nectarine, lime peel and lemon grass spice. The palate is plush, textured and concentrated with a bright tangy acidity and a real breadth and depth of flavour. Beautifully complex and generous. Drink now to 2036+.
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Savage Wines Never Been Asked to Dance 2025, WO Paarl, 13.5% Abv.
A wine that has fast developed into one of Duncan’s most sought after wines. Now that he has won the battles against the birds stealing all the fruit, this Paarl vineyard planted in 1956 is delivering some incredible fruit that is fermented and aged for 10 months in 600 litre barrels. The aromatics show a certain savoury mineral depth alongside notes of Granite, dried hay, white citrus, pear and white peach. A Chenin Blanc with great concentration, lovely purity and a real crystalline tangy brightness. Superb as always. Drink now to 2036+.
(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Savage Wines Follow the Line 2025, WO Darling, 12.7% Abv.
Always one of South Africa’s leading premium Cinsaults, the 2025 contains 93% Cinsault and 7% Syrah from Darling, both 50% whole bunch fermented and matured for 12 months in foudre and amphora. The aromatics are taut and focused, showing plenty of Granitic mineral spice before sleek, cool notes of cranberries and wild strawberries with a suggestion of garrigue spice. Plenty of linear tension and precision of a laser-like focused palate. Impressively serious. Drink now to 2036+.
(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Duncan pouring his 2025 releases in London.
Savage Wines Thief in the Night Grenache 2025, WO Piekenierskloof, 14% Abv.
Made from grapes from Piekenierskloof, the 2025 expression includes a 4% splash of Cinsault with 10% being whole bunch fermented before being aged for 10 months in concrete eggs and used 500 litre barrels. The aromatics are delicately earthy and savoury, understated even, before notes of red berries and strawberries, fynbos and Granitic mineral spice. The mouthfeel is plush but very elegant, exotically spicy with a medium bodied weight, finishing with drying, polished mineral tannins. Drink now to 2034+.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Savage Wines Girl Next Door Syrah 2025, WO Cape Town, 13.5% Abv.
Made from two Syrah vineyards on the Cape Peninsula, one being in Fish Hoek and the other in Noordhoek, both being matured for 10 months in older 500 litre old barrels. The aromatics are initially very dramatic and deep, showing hints of violets, garrigue, woodsmoke, tar and wood embers before a subtle medley of red and black berry fruits and a sappy peppery spice. The palate shows a broody depth and intensity, structured but elegant, packing plenty of power and poise with a well-integrated vein of acidity. An eye catching wine as usual. Drink now to 2036+.
(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Savage Wines Are We There Yet 2025, WO Malgas, 13.5% Abv.
The blend for the 2025 Malgas red is 56% Touriga Nacional and 44% Syrah with a 10% portion being whole bunch fermented. The aromatics show a subtle perfume of violets, dried herbs and tilled earth with red and black berry fruits in support. The palate is initially quite tight and broody with a pronounced stony, mineral focus and precision before a more plush, rich, exotic fruit complexity follows on the palate. Always structured and powerful, the 2025 has a couple of extra gears as well as a surfeit of buffering dry extract and concentration. A delicious wine with its own unique following. Drink now to 2038+.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Savage Wines Savage Red 2024, WO Stellenbosch, 13.5% Abv.
This 100% Syrah red is made from Kuils River and Polkadraai Hills fruit with 15% fermented as submerged cap before being matured in older 500 litre barrels for 13 months followed by a further 10 months in foudre. The aromatics are sweet fruited and exotic showing hints of peach skins, red cherries and apricot pips. The mouthfeel is cool, sleek and minerally charged revealing a beautifully elegant texture, plenty of Granitic spice and chalky tannins on the finish. A very complete and compact wine. Drink now to 2038+.
(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The wines are offered by Great Domaines in Johannesburg and imported exclusively into the UK by Liberty Wines in London.
Located in South Africa’s maritime Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, Hamilton Russell Vineyards stands as a South African benchmark for cool-climate viticulture. Planted just 1.5 kilometres from the cold Atlantic Ocean on 52 hectares of ancient, clay-rich shale soil, the estate produces only two wines – a single Pinot Noir and a single Chardonnay. Both wines are designed and assembled not merely to showcase these two Burgundian cultivars, but also to capture the precise personality of their unique Valley terroir.
The 2025 Hamilton Russell Chardonnay is defined by its striking natural acidity, dry minerality, and structural poise. Whole-bunch pressed and grown on low-yielding vines, the style prioritizes tension, length, and elegance over heavy oak or overt fruit nuances. The Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir leans into a classically savoury, Old World profile, characterized by dark spice, subtle primal tones, and firm structural depth, it trades higher alcohols and simple fruit sweetness for more refined, age-worthy classical complexity.
Blessed with near-ideal growing conditions in 2025 – a cold winter, clean bud break, and flawless harvesting conditions, owner Anthony Hamilton Russell considers 2025 to be one of the finest vintages in the estate’s history. Together, these two new releases represent an ultra-sophisticated, Burgundy-inspired craft from one of South Africa’s flagship Pinot Noir producer.
Hamilton Russell Chardonnay 2025, WO Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, 13.5% Abv.
The 2025 Hamilton Russell production sees a slight volume recovery on the 2024 vintage but remains still well below normal. Fortunately, the 2025 Chardonnay quality, like the 2024, is truly superb, the wine boasting gorgeous notes of fragrant white blossoms and waxy bergamot lemons with delicate salted green pistachio hints. Delicately nutty on the nose and palate, the limestone mineral vein is never far away, combining with intense crystalline notes of lemon and lime cordial, salted caramel, and crunchy green apple fruits, finishing with superb concentration and a vibrantly tangy acidity. This is top notch Chardonnay from an excellent vintage in the Valley. Drink now to 2036+.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Tasting the 2025s and 2026s with winemaker Emul Ross.
Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir 2025, WO Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, 13.5% Abv.
Like in Burgundy, every vintage in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley is slightly different, and thankfully after several consecutive small vintages, the Pinot Noir volumes started to recover in 2025 and 2026. Luckily, Anthony Hamilton Russell and Emul Ross have produced one of their finest Pinot Noirs in possibly a decade, the aromatics restrained, delicately perfumed and slightly stony before hints of pink musk, red apple, red and black cherry and notes of small wild strawberries. On the palate, the oak is fully integrated and absorbed by the pure fruit concentration, the terroir minerality showing a steely vein of nervy freshness and the linear acids giving way to tart red berries, cranberries, and bright red bramble berry fruits. A very pretty, triumphant Pinot Noir with stony mineral tannins lining the wine’s textural pathway, finishing with intensity and clarity. Drink now to 2036+.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Hamilton Russell Vineyard wines are imported into the UK exclusively by Mentzendorff Wines.
About seven years ago Nietvoorbij, the vine research facility in Stellenbosch, planted a variety of lesser known cultivars on various farms in the Swartland in order to test their draught resistance. The Riebeeck Valley Wine Co. were fortunate to find some of these vines planted in two long rows, one with white cultivars and one with red cultivars, on a farm just outside of Riebeek West.
A decision was made to harvest the red cultivars (Barbera, Carignan, Durif, Marselan, Tannat and Tempranillo) as a field blend, destemming the grapes into an open top fermenter. After a spontaneous wild yeast fermentation the wine was pressed off and aged in three old 300 litre French oak barrels for 8 months prior to being bottled.
Not really knowing what to expect, “the result was surprisingly charming, untamed and full of character. It reminded us of a scruffy streetdog with a questionable family tree but soulful eyes and a heart or gold… and so was born… Straatbrak” according to RVWC winemaker Sheree Nothnagel.
Riebeek Valley Wine Co. Straatbrak Red Field Blend 2025, WO Swartland, 13.5% Abv.
Don’t let the sentimental label put you off, because this is one of the most seriously enticing offerings I’ve tasted to date from the Riebeek Valley Wine Co. An adventurous blend of Barbera, Carignan, Durif, Marselan, Tannat and Tempranillo, these are all the champion cultivars of Europe’s dryer warm climate regions thrown into one stunning blend. The logo on the label sums up the wine perfectly… “no pedigree, just personality” and boy does this wine have personality! First tasted slightly chilled, the aromatics burst with a complex medley of red and black berry fruits, plum spice, black currant compote and lovely wild bramble and hedgerow nuances. The palate is pure, pinpoint and deliciously precise with linear crisp acids, a bright fluid palate with powdery silky tannins supported by mouth-wateringly tangy acids. Perfectly assembled, beautifully characterful, but impressively intense, pure and focused with genuine winemaking prowess. One of the most exciting and juicy wines I’ve tasted all year from the Cape! This is a must try wine, served preferably lightly chilled. Drink now to 2034+.
Located in the soon to be certified new Eerste River ward merely 5 kilometres from the False Bay ocean on the southern side of Stellenbosch along Baden Powell Drive in Lynedoch, Winshaw Vineyards has quietly built a reputation for red wines that capture the soul of this storied Cape wine region. Here, ancient Granite soils and cooling Atlantic breezes create the perfect tension between ripeness and restraint, allowing a cool climate balance and freshness that defines every bottle in their premium red wine collection.
The flagship reds draw on Stellenbosch’s classic varietals, namely bold, structured Cabernet Sauvignon with notes of blackcurrant and cedar; velvety plush Merlot layered with plum and dark chocolate; and elegantly red fruited Cabernet Franc, making expressive Bordeaux-style blends that marry power with elegance. Each vintage is shaped by their meticulous hand-harvesting, low-yielding vines, and extended barrel maturation in French oak, coaxing out an impressive level of complexity.
In the Winshaw vineyards with Pierre Winshaw.
What sets the Winshaw Vineyards premium range apart is a commitment to terroir-driven winemaking, selecting only the very best fruit from their circa 50 hectares of vines and minimal intervention winemaking in the cellar that lets the character of the land speak for itself. For those seeking a taste of Stellenbosch’s world-class red winemaking heritage, the Winshaw Vineyards premium reds offer both artisanal craftsmanship, quality and a genuine sense of place, vintage after vintage.
Winshaw Vineyards Malbec 2025, WO Stellenbosch, 13.5% Abv.
This must be one of the most consistently high quality Malbec wines produced in South Africa. Year after year the Winshaw brothers make a rich, purple coloured expression packed full of red and black berry fruits, delicate Christmas spices with the cultivar’s archetypal sweet sapidity tightly interwoven into the wine’s fabric. The 2025 shows massive concentration, a silky plush textural luxuriousness framed by fresh acids and a long, effortless black berry laden finish with a delicate kiss of vanilla oak spice. Simply delicious.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Winshaw Vineyards Bill Winshaw 2023, WO Stellenbosch, 14.5% Abv.
A blend of 63% Cabernet Franc, 24% Merlot, and 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, shows seductive perfumed notes of red currants and black cherry with an overlay of salty black liquorice, graphite and sweet salted caramel oak hints. This wine has the depth of a fine Bordeaux blend combined with the elegance of a premium Cabernet Franc. A beautifully classy expression. Drink now to 2036+.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Winshaw Vineyards Charles Winshaw 2023, WO Stellenbosch, 14.5% Abv.
A blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot and 13% Cabernet Franc, this classically styled Cabernet Sauvignon led expression shows archetypal aromatics of violets, black cherry and black currant compote with hints of graphite, sweet cedar and wet loam nuances. The palate is decidedly denser and riper than the Bill Winshaw blend, showing notes of stewed black plum, light silky tannins, caramelised black berries, and a delicately mineral vein that continues with persistence to the finish. Plenty of substance or “gras” as the French would say, making this the stand out wine in the Winshaw range in 2023. Drink now to 2038+.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Winshaw wines are imported exclusively into the UK by South African specialist merchant Museum Wines based in Salisbury.
The Etna Rosso wines, built primarily around Nerello Mascalese with a splash of Nerello Cappuccio, ages more like Nebbiolo or Pinot Noir than a typical southern Italian red. Its pale colour and firm tannin-acid backbone are deceptive – the wines have real structure beneath a fragile-looking surface. Young Etna Rosso shows red cherry, wild strawberry, and volcanic basaltic minerality, often with a smoky, ashy edge from the soil. Over 8–15 years, the fruit shifts toward dried cherry, orange peel, and forest floor, while tannins soften and the wine gains a translucent, garnet hue. High-altitude vineyards and old, ungrafted vines (many over a century old, planted on their own volcanic roots) tend to produce the most age-worthy examples, with the acidity of the terrain acting as a natural preservative.
Etna Bianco, dominated by Carricante, is one of Italy’s most underrated ageable whites. Young versions can seem austere, showing citrus, green apple, and saline minerality, but within 5 to 10 years, they develop a honeyed, waxy, almost Chablis-like complexity, retaining remarkable freshness thanks to their high natural acidity and elevation-driven diurnal swings. This ability to age gracefully sets Etna Bianco apart from most Sicilian whites, which are typically made for early drinking.
Salvino doing a vintage masterclass in London.
The Benanti Winery, one of the estates most responsible for reviving Etna’s reputation in the 1990s, makes a strong case study for this longevity. Their single-vineyard wines: Rovittello and Serra della Contessa for Rosso, and Pietramarina for Bianco – are built specifically with cellaring in mind. Pietramarina in particular is renowned for improving for well over a decade, its Carricante freshness gaining an added texture and nutty depth while never losing its volcanic edge. Tasting older Benanti vintages reveals wines that don’t just survive time but are transformed by it, proof that Etna’s mountain terroir, more than any winemaking trickery, is the true source of its ageability.
Benanti Archive Vintage Notes:
Benanti Etna Bianco 2020, 12% Abv.
Bold and taut with an expressive maritime salinity, savoury flor style salty aromatics, crunchy green pears and yellow apples. The palate show lovely concentration and richness, piquant basaltic spice and herby sweet sour intensity. Lovely depth with a long, seductively white peach finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Benanti Etna Bianco 2019, 12% Abv.
Quite a taut, mineral aromatic profile with citrus peel, white blossom and maritime sea breeze salinity. The palate is bright, crisp and steamy, erring on the leaner, more linear style of Carricante.
(Wine Safari Score: 91/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Benanti Etna Bianco 2017, 12.5% Abv.
Fragrant lifted, perfumed nose with bold notes of crunchy green pear, green apple pastille, chamomile tea and flinty, mineral, white peach notes. The creamy textured palate has bright acidity, pithy tart green apple and unripe orange peel spice notes. Lovely balance with a fine mellow mineral complexity.
From bush trained Carricante vines planted at 800 metres. Fermentation and ageing all in stainless steel using indigenous yeasts. The aromatics are sweet fruited and piercing, boasting honey suckle, Wriggleys bubblegum, green apple, yellow stone fruits and hints of wet straw. The palate is dry and pithy, the acidity bright and steely, structured, taut and beautifully linear and saline with hints of oyster shell and basalt. The finish is crystalline and pure, beautifully balanced and harmonious with focus and intensity.
Lovely savoury aromatics with hints of wet basalt, oat meal, lemon pith, oyster shell, crushed gravel, dried kelp and sea breeze nuances. Vibrant, mineral and rasping, there’s a brightness, freshness and energy over a restrained, briney wet stone, mineral bitter lemon, quinine persistence that leads you to a long, maritime-tinged finish. Classical and classy.
From the village of Milo, which allows it the Superiore designation, this is made in stainless steel fermented with propagated indigenous yeasts from their vineyards, left on lees for 12 months with stirring followed by an additional 6 months in bottle. The nose displays notes of yellow orchard fruits, an oxidative leesy salinity and a honey suckle, “sun wine” savoury character. More breath and textural depth of restrained fruit weight too than the straight Bianco but finished bone dry with a twang of rock salt. Very young but should develop beautifully.
(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Vertical tasting of Benanti Etna Bianco Superiore ‘Pietra Marina’:
Wines from the unique site of Milo located on the eastern slopes of Etna at 800 metres of altitude.
A beautifully aromatic white with intricate notes of white flowers, freshly sliced pear, delicately savoury lees, lemon biscuits and plenty of the discreet, telltale saline basaltic minerality. Spending circa 30 months on lees, the palate is weightless and pure, intense and saline with subtle bitter lemon, sea breeze and an oyster shell finish. A quietly spoken wine that really shows an understated authority and intensity. Superb finesse.
More pithy, lifted and citrus driven with an incredibly harmonious aromatic array of yellow grape fruit, leesy biscuit, basalt, white pear and sea breeze nuances. Such elegance and poise, this is a truly complex and intricate white with plenty of interest, minerality but also intense pithy citrus, bitter lemon intensity. Beautifully volcanic, salty and stony, but with a balancing dry fruit extract. Simply astonishing how complete and characterful this wine is. A seafood paring dream.
First vintage produced was 1990. The wine spends 24 months on its fine lees in stainless steel followed by 12 month ageing in bottle. Grapes are sourced from the best and oldest vines in the commune of Milo and forms part of the tiny quantity of Superiore Blanco produced on Etna.
Wonderfully complex nose of crushed basalt, struck match and reductive smokey mineral notes. There are underlying notes of sweet pear, lemon herbal tea and boxwood spice and rock salt. Palate is steely and taught, bright and tart with complexing notes of fresh fennel, white peach, and citrus blossom, finishing with a most intense rocky, liquid minerality and maritime salinity. Very young but shows immense potential.
With just a bit of tertiary age characters, the bouquet shows lovely notes of bruised white peaches, old honey, leesy spice, chamomile tea, white citrus, pomace stone and hints of diesel-fuel. The savoury note carries to the palate buoyed by intense liquid minerality, pear purée, bruised waxy apples and a sensation of sucking on wet river pebbles. The finish remains tart and fresh with a pronounced maritime influence.
Golden pale honey yellow, the nose show rich oxidative tertiary development with nuances of bruised peaches, meal biscuits, savoury white citrus and piquant aged, Riesling-like characters of diesel rag. The palate retains its bright acidity and liquid mineral mouthfeel with brine, resinous sappy spice and yellow apples on the finish. Earthy, volcanic and savoury, this is a complex mouthful.
Made from 100% Carricante, the aromatics show a sophisticated mix of white flowers, yellow citrus and white pear fruits with a pronounced undertone of basaltic volcanic minerality. The fruits are saline and pithy with herbal wet river stone minerality, green apple and delicate herb infused pear drop fruit nuances. Sleek crystalline texture, delicate weightless concentration and a salty maritime finish.
A fine pure rendition of this rare Sicilian variety. Bottled unblended as an IGT label, it shows an attractive stainless steel expression with deliciously pure aromatics of bramble berry, black currant, sappy flinty spice and earthy reductive complexity. Tightly wound, there are juicy berry flavours of stewed strawberry, creamy mineral tannins and supple notes of liquorice, salty black cherry and graphite on the finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Benanti Etna Rosso 2016, 13.5% Abv.
A traditional blend of Nerello Mascalese sand Nerello Cappuccio, the nose is perfumed and penetrating with sweet Fraisse des Bois, bramble berries and savoury red plum. Finely poised, creamy dry mineral tannins and a harmonious, bright, fresh red berry and basalt rock finish. Lovely concentration and length.
(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Benanti Etna Rosso ‘Contrada Monte Serra’ 2016, 14.5% Abv.
Another fine Etna blend, the aromatics show more depth, power, minerality and also potpourri and red strawberry and red cherry fruit concentration. The palate is supple and fleshy with a deliciously alluring flavour spectrum of saline cassis fruit twinned with bright acids and linear, savoury tart plum and a red bramble berry finish. Really complex and already deliciously accessible but with age worthy aspirations.
100% Nerello Mascalese from 50 year old vines (permitted by the DOC since 2012) shows an intense, perfumed, savoury tinged aromatics of sun dried cranberries, ripe red cherry, and almost Nebbiolo like aromatics of tar and roses. Palate is cool and creamy with pronounced crushed stone minerality, cherry skins, sandy tannins and a long bramble berry finish with attractive botanical vermouth notes.
Intense and fragrant in the glass, the aromatics show richer, riper notes of red and black bramble berry fruits, strawberry compote, orange rind and subtle sweet vermouth botanical spices. On the palate the extra flesh and weight is evident, coating the mouth with sweet pithy red plum, red currant and spicy basaltic mineral tannins. Deliciously accessible and sweet fruited, the structure is preserved with vibrant acids and a drying stony minerality on the finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Vertical tasting of Benanti Etna Rosso Cru ‘Rovittello’: (single vineyard)
Rovittello is the name of the vineyard on the northern slopes of Etna comprising of a natural field blend of 95% Nerello Mascalese and 5% Nerello Capuccio.
28 to 24 months in large oak barrels with at least 12 months ageing in bottle. Already beautifully perfumed and expressive, with violets, cherry blossom, saline cassis, sappy spice and dusty red cherry and graphite spice. The purity of the fruit shines on the palate with crystalline notes of sweet cherry, forest fruits, Pinot Noir nuances, mineral herbal grip and sappy, stalky Dujac’esque complexity. Bright pure acids, deliciously concentrated fruits and tantalising macerated strawberry finish.
Slightly darker, bloodier nose with layers of black salty licorice, salty cassis, sweet red bramble berries and savoury macerated strawberries. The palate is soft, plump and harmonious, quite mellow and spicy but with dusty powdery tannins, dry chalky grip, layered with sweet cherry fruits, tart bramble berries and a graphite and liquid mineral tension on the finish.
A fine garnet red colour, the nose shows pronounced tertiary savoury notes of wood spice, tannery leather, polished mahogany and sweet orange wine punch. Cool, spicy creamy textured palate, there is super juicy acids, bright tart sweet / sour cherry fruit notes, an element of linearity and a salty, dry, graphitey, grippy red liquorice finish. Delicious.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Vertical tasting of Benanti Etna Rosso ‘Serra della Contessa’:
(Single vineyard old vine plot in Monte Serra)
90% Nerello Mascalese and 10% Nerello Cappuccio from 110 year old ungrafted vines on the south eastern slopes of Etna. Matured for 18 to 24 months in large oak barrels, none new, from France and Slavonia. Stays 12 months in bottle before release. First vintage was 1998.
Benanti Etna Rosso ‘Serra della Contessa’ 2014, 13.5% Abv.
Bright tart lifted, energetic nose with intense notes of red cherry, dried rose petals, potpourri, saline cassis and sweet red apples. Palate shows a marvellous Burgundy meets Piedmont character with linear, taut black berry fruits, sweet forestry red berry intensity and a concentrated, plush, powerful, velvet in a silk glove approach. Deliciously fine and regal.
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Benanti Etna Rosso ‘Serra della Contessa’ 2011, 14% Abv.
A couple of years extra bottle age lend this Cuvee a real aromatic boost with less of the pretty roses and violet perfume and more savoury blood orange, earthy pomegranate and dried leather complexity. The palate is plush, fleshy and grippy with sweet orange peel, tangerine and sweet savoury red berry earthy notes. Drinking beautifully with a fine balance between fruit freshness and tertiary forestry complexity. Lovely.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Benanti Etna Rosso ‘Serra della Contessa’ 2001, 14% Abv.
An earthy, forestry expression with nuanced tertiary aromas of basalt, sweet grilled herbs, dried orange peel, stewed strawberries, sweet tannery leather. The palate follows with more fleshy sweet herby forest berry fruits, stewed red plums, rosemary and savoury aniseed root complexity. Plenty of power and grip, this is really delicious as it reaches its maturity zenith.
A beautifully aromatic complexity expressed through volcanic, basaltic notes of limestone, soap stone, gravel and dried flowers with potpourri, sun dried cranberry and cherry fruit hints. Always described as possessing a character that transects Nebbiolo and Pinot Noir, this wine certainly has the spicy, mineral texture of Piemonte with liquorice and tar, roses and dried orange peel, with a voluptuous glycerol old vine depth that goes on and on and on. Wow, this has got to be one of the top 3 wines I’ve ever tasted from Etna. Drink now to 2040+.
24 month Metodo Classico using pure Carricante, made under consultation with a Francia Corta specialist. The aromatics are dusty and stony with a basaltic minerality, notes of pithy pear, peach blossom and honeysuckle. The salinity kicks in on the palate with a briney salty kick, delicious pear and white peach with tart green apple acidity and a pity, phenolic mineral grip. Mouthwatering, delicately sappy, decidedly maritime in feel but also beautifully accomplished with a creamy, explosive mousse. Very impressive.
Released in April 2024. Made from 100% Carricante, the aromatics show a sophisticated mix of white flowers, yellow citrus and white pear fruits with a pronounced undertone of basaltic volcanic minerality. The fruits are saline and pithy with herbal wet river stone minerality, green apple and delicate herb infused pear drop fruit nuances. Sleek crystalline texture, delicate weightless concentration and a salty maritime finish.
From bush trained Carricante vines planted at 800 metres. Fermentation and ageing all in stainless steel using indigenous yeasts. The aromatics are sweet fruited and piercing, boasting honey suckle, Wriggleys bubblegum, green apple, yellow stone fruits and hints of wet straw. The palate is dry and pithy, the acidity bright and steely, structured, taut and beautifully linear and saline with hints of oyster shell and basalt. The finish is crystalline and pure, beautifully balanced and harmonious with focus and intensity.
(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
(Some Carricante were planted in 2020 and released in 2024)
Benanti ‘Contrada Monte Serra’ Etna Rosso 2022, 14% Abv.
A harmonious offering with a uniquely complex mix of basaltic minerality, dried herbs and delicate pithy, stony notes of red cherry and cranberry spice. Taut, tight and mineral, layered with subtle pithy red berry fruits, fine grained tannins and a long, classical, maritime-tinged finish with just a hint of warmth.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Benanti Etna Rosso ‘Contrada Monte Serra’ 2021, 14.5% Abv. (Magnum)
Deliciously earthy brambly fragrant aromatics showing notes of succulent sweet cranberries, red plum, pomegranate and blood orange with a delicate sweet 5 spice dusting. The palate is medium bodied and beautifully polished and harmonious with a stony fine grained texture, invigorating red berry acids and a savoury, brambly earthy intensity on the finish with a comforting warmth.
The pure, pristine aromatics are majestically fragrant and perfumed, packed full of candied red cherry, bramble berries, cranberry and delicately dusty, smoky, basaltic, mineral notes. Medium bodied but tight grained and concentrated, the palate complexity is enticingly salty and mineral with a powdery, creamy mid-palate, chalky drying tannins, finishing with real purity and bright intensity.
Deep dark broody smoky aromatics, made from younger vine 100% Nerello Mascalese, aged for 12 months in French Tonneau. The aromatics are dense, dark fruited and fully loaded with phenolic red and black berries, dried flowers, plum confit, liquid minerality and tarry, tangy, black cherry confit note on the finish. Plenty of intense fruit concentration, smoky mineral black berries and a delicately chewy, drying grippy saline finish. Powerful, complex but mouth watering.
A taut, linear expression boasting aromatic layers of perfumed white blossom, pink musk, red berries, saline black currant and black liquorice stick. The palate texture is taut but beautifully polished, tight grained and mineral but with an airy, ethereal crystalline weight and purity, finishing with a picante, mineral, basaltic persistence. This has the weightless concentration of young Grand Cru Burgundy with a taut, wound spring tension that ties it all together beautifully.
An incredibly complex and intricate aromatics in the glass bursting with cranberries, sweet red plum crystallised red cherry and red apple. The basaltic minerality vein runs comfortably through the palate showing incredibly sleek, silky stony tannins, wet stone minerality and a pithy, red cherry and cranberry finish. All the complicated volcanic minerality distilled into a superb, accessible package. Really very fine.
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Benanti ‘Contrada Monte Serra’ Etna Rosso 2020, 13.5% Abv.
A complex aromatics of bramble berry notes over strawberry, cranberry and defined hints of truffle and mushrooms. The palate is crystalline, pure and incredibly focused and precise with chalky, basaltic red cherry, cranberry and sour red plum. Really classy, mineral and harmonious.
This is an incredibly rich, intense powerful wine with seductive, expressive aromatics of sweet liquorice, tar, saline black plum, and pithy black cherry. The palate is silky and seamless but also beautifully chalky and textured with dry extract, glycerol black cherry, fleshy jammy black berry and a delicately spicy, kelpy, compote saline finish.
A pure rendition of this rare Sicilian variety. Bottled unblended under an IGT label at Etna Rosso is reserved for Nerello Mascalese, it shows an attractive stainless steel purity with notes of savoury black berries, sappy bramble fruits, milk chocolate and raspberry compote. Bright and crunchy in the mouth, there’s a lifted cedar spice, led pencil peppery note with chalky mineral grippy tannins, a medium bodied weighting and a cool, cherry cola tinged finish kissed with a resinous nuance. Subtle rusticity done very well.
(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Benanti Wines are imported exclusively into the UK by Woodwinters. Contact: Andrew@woodwinters.com for pricing and allocations.
The 2025 vintage arrives on the market as one of the most talked-about in recent Swartland memory. After winter rains replenished groundwater and set vines up for a healthy viticultural season, a cool, dry growing period unfolded, often being described as a “Goldilocks” year in contrast to the deluges of 2024.
For the whites, moderate, dry harvest conditions allowed grapes to reach the cellar in excellent health, delivering wines with bright acidity, vivid fruit purity and real textural precision. The reds benefited from the same steady ripening window, with the Swartland’s noble red cultivars like Syrah developing intense colour, concentrated flavours and firm natural acidities, while low yields helped concentrate the wines’ character further.
The result is a premium RAAR range from the Riebeek Valley Wine Co. that captures a vintage of balance and clarity, producing wines that speak honestly of their terroir, a well chosen picking window, and winemaker Sheree Nothnagel’s distinctive, low-intervention style.
Raar Grenache Blanc 2025, WO Swartland, 12.5% Abv.
Both Grenache Noir and Grenache Blanc have been two absolute success stories in the Cape over the past decade, with both cultivars finding a comfortable home in the Swartland region and surrounds. This small batch production white in the RAAR range is an absolute delight, with incredibly intricate aromatics loaded with white flowers, pithy white citrus, green apple, honeysuckle, crunchy peaches and a pronounced mineral undertone of Granitic spice. On the palate, the energy is almost boundless, the palate tart, tangy and deliciously fresh with a succulent lemony acidity supported by pithy lemon and yellow grapefruit notes, green apple, fennel root and a pithy wet stone minerality on the drying saline finish. A wonderful expression to enjoy now and over the next 3 to 5+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Raar Skin Contact Chenin Blanc 2025, WO Swartland, 12.5% Abv.
This Old Vine certified bush vine Chenin Blanc was planted in 1979 on decomposed Granite soils. After a cold soak on its skins for six days, the wine was fermented in barrel using wild yeasts before being aged on its fine lees for six months. The aromatics show reductive notes of struck flint, dusty crushed Granite, dried straw, bruised yellow orchard fruits and subtle pithy orange marmalade hints. The palate is pithy and spicy, with a notable wet stone minerality, green apple, white peach and an exotic dried herbal complexity on the finish. A characterful, mineral laden, picante expression of skin contact Chenin Blanc making it the perfect gourmet-styled wine pairing option to drink now and over the next 3 to 5 years. (3,733 bottles produced.)
(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Raar Grenache Noir 2025, WO Swartland, 13% Abv.
This light to medium bodied red shows a beautiful aromatics of sweet purple flowers, a delicate sapidity, pressed violets, cranberries and savoury red bramble berry fruits. The palate displays the distinction and intensity of a great vintage like 2025, packed with a glycerol fruit concentration, a stony mineral skeletal frame, fresh integrated acids and sweet, soft pithy red berry fruits that linger long on the finish. You might need to give this young wine some time to add complexity, but stylistically, it’s a real beauty! Drink now to 2034+. (5,600 bottles produced.)
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Raar Shiraz Carbonic Maceration 2025. WO Swartland, 14% Abv.
Few grapes perform as well in the Swartland as Shiraz or Syrah, and this small batch production of 4,436 bottles used intra-cellular fermentation on 100% of the whole-bunches in the style of France’s Beaujolais region, followed by alcoholic fermentation, extended skin contact and then eight months barrel ageing before bottling. Always one of the most impressive cuvees in the RAAR range, this 2025 is certainly no different, bursting with a perfumed aromatics of violets, fresh rose petals, savoury black currants, black olive tapenade, sweet red peppercorns, cured bresaola and delicate hints of leafy sapidity. The texture on the palate is tight knit and creamy with a pronounced mineral chalky tannin structure, a tart bright integrated acidity and a beautifully spicy red and black berry fruited medley on the finish. Wonderful energy and a mouth watering acidity make this a particularly attractive red wine expression suitable for serving gently chilled. Drink now to 2032+.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Raar Petite Sirah 2025. WO Swartland, 14% Abv.
This Petite Sirah, aka Durif, profiles an opulent cultivar grown in the Swartland, made from dry-grown bush-vine grapes that were wild fermented with 30% whole bunches and extended post-fermentation maceration, then aged in old French oak barrels for eight months. The result is an opulent, ever so slightly hedonistic red expression that is bursting with aromatics of red plum compote, mulberries and earthy black currants. Super ripe and intense, there is a notably picante character on the palate, that’s layered with sweet black and blue berry fruits, hints of molasses and stewed black orchard fruits. The tannins add a drying structural support of chalky minerality and sweet berry fruits to finish with a delicately chewy, grippy persistence. Young, bright and exotic, this could be the perfect wine for a barbeque / braai. Drink now to 2032. (2,490 bottles produced.)
(Wine Safari Score: 91+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Raar Shiraz Carbonic Maceration is a regularly high scoring wine, cracking 95/100 GSMW for the 2025 release.
Benanti Viticoltori is one of the founding estates and market leaders of modern winemaking on Mount Etna, based in Viagrande on the volcano’s southeastern slope since 1988, when founder Giuseppe Benanti set out to prove the region’s unique volcanic terroir potential. Today the family estate, now run by sons Antonio and Salvino, is widely credited with putting DOC Etna on the world fine wine map.
Benanti Tasting Room in Viagrande
Benanti’s whites are all made from 100% Carricante, Etna’s indigenous white grape, that are vinified in stainless steel and never aged in oak to protect their terroir expression. Grapes come from vineyards on the eastern and southern slopes, primarily Contrada Cavaliere and Contrada Rinazzo, prized for their high elevation and abundant light, with vines aged between 20 to 60 years old, some trained as traditional Alberello bush vines. The results are pale, mineral-driven wines with maritime salinity, pithy citrus, and green apple characters, of course epitomized by their flagship Pietra Marina Bianco, a Carricante Superiore from ancient vines near Milo considered one of Italy’s most age-worthy whites.
The Benanti tasting line up.
The reds centre on Nerello Mascalese, either bottled as a mono-varietal or blended with a small amount of Nerello Cappuccio, grown in volcanic, mineral-rich soils across Etna’s different Contrade vineyard sites. These wines range from the everyday drinking DOC Etna Rosso to prestigious single-vineyard Riserva bottlings like Rovittello and Serra della Contessa, prized for their elegance, red fruit character, structure and clear volcanic minerality. Together, Benanti’s reds and whites showcase the remarkable diversity of Etna’s terroir.
Benanti tasting room.
On the second day of my DOC Etna visit, I was hosted by Antonio and Salvino Benanti at the Benanti Winery tasting room in Viagrande, next to the Contrada Monte Serra vineyards, where I was shown their full line-up of red and white wines as well as several back vintages for extra context. My full notes are below. Benanti only use local yeast strains that were isolated and selected since 2005 from four different remote Carricante and Nerello Mascalese vineyards far from any commercial wineries. Only these four selected yeasts are used today.
Sourced from Eastern slope vineyards of Etna, bottled spring 2019 and disgorged 14th Feb 2023. Aged 48 months on its lees with zero use of oak. Produced since 2002, the 2018 shows complex notes of sweet sappy honeysuckle, leesy biscuit, stony basaltic notes with hints of dried wild herbs and briney nuances. The palate is enticingly nutty and savoury, layered with pithy citrus peel, salted brioche and a subtle maritime salinity. Beautiful freshness and balance, delightfully flavourful and really quite delicious. Drink now to 2040+.
This Etna Bianco displays an incredibly expressive aromatics packed full of Sicilian lemons, brine, maritime salinity and dried baking herbs over hints of peach skins and a stony basaltic minerality. The palate shows a cool elegance, delicately supple and sleek with soft integrated acids, a crystalline briney concentration with a light to medium body, finishing with salted pears and a hint of white peach. Very attractive and approachable with a refreshing accessibility. Drink now to 2034+. (100,000 bottles produced.)
Made from 100% Carricante grapes that spend 12 months in stainless steel tanks post fermentation. The aromatics show a subtle dusty, flinty reduction with layers of white blossom, basaltic mineral spice, white pepper, crunchy pear, and dried herbal nuances. The palate reveals a fine concentration, delicately fleshy and pure with a crystalline fruit clarity, green pear and salty, pithy green apple with a delightfully tart, intense, characterful finish. Drink now to 2034+. (Circa 7-8,000 bottles produced.)
Made from around 1.2 hectares of Carricante grown on very light, sandy soils, the aromatics are contrasting to the Contrada Cavaliere Bianco being more delicate, sappy, and leafy with green fruits, dried herbs and savoury, pithy bruised yellow orchard fruit notes. The underlying saline, briney, sappy character carries to a cool, sleek, elegant palate which shows subtlety, textural harmony, and a stony, basaltic maritime salinity on the tangy finish. Drink now to 2032+.
From the unique Bianco Superiore village of Milo, this single site Contrada wine shows an incredibly intense, saline aromatics with a pronounced kerosene like pungency with a dusting of sweet baking herbs, lime peel, leafy sapidity and oystershell nuances. The volcanic basaltic minerality lurks ever present, the concentration notably punchy, profound and intense, layered with greengage, white peach and subtle green apple notes with yet more salinity and maritime characters on the long, persistent finish. An astonishing volcanic white expression drinking beautifully now. Drink now to 2036+.
The highest, most sandy vineyard in Rinazzo is generally used for Pietra Marina, although the exact designation is drawn from various “higher” eastern facing slopes. All aged in stainless steel, this 2021 shows a notable richness, aromatic density and intense maritime depth, with a chiselled complexity of almond skins, tangerines, orange peel pith, white peach and wet basaltic minerality. Full, plush and compact on the palate, there is a defined depth and density, an unctuous weight that is elevated by an astonishing salinity, a honied peachiness, and a superbly well integrated acid freshness. Undoubtedly one of the great white island wines of the world. Drink now to 2040+.
Considered a more ‘regular’ vintage on Etna compared to the hotter, more solar vintage characters across Italy and the Mediterranean. The nose reveals delightful aromatics with defined notes of briney salinity, hints of honey and kerosene, sapidity, and savoury, dried baking herb mealy nuances over yellow orchard fruits. The palate is impressively saline and pithy, heavily mineral laden with a wet stone intensity, but quite harmonious and balanced with an effortless concentration and balance. This wine is sitting in a beautiful sweet spot at the moment. Drink now to 2036+.
This 2016 is only just starting to show an inkling of tertiary development while remaining essentially fresh and mineral. Beautifully complex, the aromatics reveal notes of kerosene, diesel rag, lime peel, dry honey, white toast, waxy bergamot and chamomile tea nuances. Fabulously cool, harmonious and ‘complete’ on the palate, the crystalline purity shines, enlivened by the maritime salinity, basaltic stony minerality and a delicately savoury, briney finish. Gently evolving, this wine shows this vineyard’s true ageing credentials at 10 years old. Drink now to 2034+.
The opulent aromatics show beautifully lifted, perfumed aromatics of wild bramble berries, sweet pithy strawberry, saline black currant and undertones of sapidity, cherry pipe tobacco and dried cigar wrapper. Soft, vibrant and plush in the mouth, the ripeness coats the palate showing none of the rusticity this grape is known for. The palate is medium to full bodied, compact and dense, yet effortlessly concentrated with pithy red and black berry fruits, a sturdy Basaltic mineral tannin backbone and a well-integrated, tangy brightness on the finish. A wonderfully unique and characterful wine. Drink now to 2040+.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
10 Benanti DOC Etna Rosso 2024, 14% Abv.
Since 2011, Etna Rosso was not required to be blended anymore by DOC regulations. But Benanti Etna Rosso remains a blend to this day, using varying quantities of between 10% and 15% of Nerello Cappuccio in the final cuvee. The aromatics are beautifully perfumed and lifted, showing the vintages concentration and intensity of red and black berries, red cherries, sweet cranberry and a delicate wild bramble berry spice. The palate is cool, silky and pinpoint pure, effortlessly elegant with silky stony tannins, a complexing minerality, and a delicate, succulent, spicy berry fruited finish. Such a classy, refined expression of Etna Rosso making it one of the benchmarks of the region. Drink now to 2034+.
This unique volcanic site shows a pronounced minty, perfumed, black berry aromatics with pithy strawberry, thyme and dried baking herbs over the ever present basaltic minerality. Soft, cool and supple in the mouth, the texture is fine grained but exceptionally elegant, fresh and pithy, beaming with a stony, volcanic minerality. Perhaps a little softer and more supple than some other Contrada, this Monte Serra is accessible, generous and a genuinely delicious crowd pleaser. Drink now to 2036+.
This beautiful Nerello Mascalese shows a deeper, darker, broodier black cherry and black berry aromatics with a pronounced salty maritime character, hints of black liquorice, basaltic minerality, dried flowers, wild strawberry and a delicate kelpy nuance. The palate texture is quite strict, framed by vibrant acids and a chalky, stony mineral tannin frame that keeps the wine restrained, pure, and quite firm and fine. Very impressive precision and focus with a chiselled intensity. Serious and seriously delicious. Drink now to 2040+.
A ripe, intense expression that shows piercing aromatics of salted black liquorice, dried flowers, potpourri, pink musk and sweet exotic baking herbs. The palate is dark fruited, intensely saline and supple with a light to medium bodied weight, a sleek stony mineral vein and an effortlessly accessible character that makes this wine so delicious and inviting. The length is fabulously long, the black berry compote and black salty liquorice notes lingering on the concentrated finish. A very serious wine, but in many ways, quite a crowd pleaser as well. Drink now to 2034+.
The newest Contrada in the Benanti range, the first official vintage was 2020 with increased volumes produced in 2021. The whole vineyard is 0.8 hectares of Nerello Mascalese, produced on dark, rich, sandy, stony volcanic soils that yield powerful aromatics of black plum, saline black currant, pithy black cherry and stony, mineral basaltic notes. The texture is silky and incredibly fine grained, almost powdery, with pinpoint pure mineral tannins, supple integrated acids, massive density and a long, harmonious, concentrated savoury finish. This is a wine that really surprises you with its power, precision, and regal depth. Drink now to 2040+.
DOC Riservas can’t be released before four years from harvest requiring at least 12 months ageing in barrel. This wine spends between 24 to 30 months in large oak before bottling, being aged another year or more in bottle before release. The vines were planted in early 1900s on their own rootstocks, producing a wine of profound depth and intensity. The aromatic breadth and depth are notable, the extra barrel ageing adding a complexing wood spice that combines with deep, broody black berry notes, pithy black cherry and salty black liquorice, finishing with chalky, drying stony tannins, saline black currant fruits and delicate graphite hints. This is a contemplative wine, regal and powerful, bold and confident, demanding your attention without too much exuberance. Wow, really something special. Drink now to 2045+.
Now 10 years old, this distinguished old bush vine cuvee is showing an attractive depth and complexity, brimming with deliciously inviting aromatics of raisined black cherries, black currants, and salted liquorice with a delicately sappy, leafy undertone. The fruit character is bold and plush on the palate, the acids softening, allowing the texture to coat the mouth with notes of stewed black plums, molasses, and black cherry compote. 2016 stands as a supremely harmonious, balanced vintage with real accessibility, balance and developing tertiary complexity. Drink now to 2036+.
The old vine parcel within the Contrada Dafara Galluzzo vineyards, the Rovittello 2020 is a supremely complex, intense expression displaying a pronounced saline, kelpy, black currant intensity over black berry, black cherry and delicately reductive, graphite nuances. The palate texture is fresh, lithe but intense and supple, the tannins loosening up to release the real salty black liquorice and black currant fruit intensity of these old vines. Impressively powerful and imposing, but also effortlessly sleek, classy, and accessible without shouting too loudly. This is a profound expression that redefines the essence of old vine Etna Nerello Mascalese. Drink now to 2040+.
This is simply a sublime expression from old vine Nerello Mascalese even though it is technically a field blend with a few Nerello Cappuccio vines co-planted. But this 2016 simple hits a new high, an aromatic Zenith of red and black fruited perfume, a delicately leafy sapidity, cherry pipe tobacco, and tightly interwoven basaltic mineral undertones. The balance and purity here is next level, the sweet tannins displayed boldly with no over ripe flavours to obscure the Northern Etna terroir minerality, the saline liquorice nuances and the black cherry fruit persistence. A profound wine on any global fine wine yardstick. Drink now to 2040+.
(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The wines of Benanti are imported exclusively into the UK by wine merchant Woodwinters. Contact Andrew@woodwinters.com to request allocations and trade pricing.
Located in the Franschhoek Valley in the Western Cape winelands, the Holden Manz Wine Estate has built a reputation for wines of precision, elegance, opulence as well as quiet ambition. Founded with a passion for craftsmanship, the estate blends old-world winemaking sensibility under winemaker Thierry Haberer, with a distinctly modern spirit, evident not only in the wines themselves but in the striking art and architecture that define this Franschhoek property.
Among the estate’s most celebrated whites is their Reserve Chardonnay, sourced from carefully selected sites across the Franschhoek Valley and the Banhoek Valley in Stellenbosch. Extended lees contact and regular batonnage give the wine remarkable texture and depth, while notes of citrus, grapefruit, and white flowers unfold against a backdrop of balanced, integrated oak use. It is a chardonnay that manages to be both generous and refined, full-bodied, yet fresh and deliciously vibrant.
At the estate’s pinnacle sits Elysium, its flagship red blend. Born from a rare occurrence, Merlot and Syrah ripening simultaneously on the farm, Elysium is hand-picked, hand-sorted, and co-fermented in new French oak, resulting in a wine of striking concentration and harmony. Produced only in select vintages and in very limited quantities, it stands as the estate’s most ambitious expression of place and craft. Together, these wines capture the essence of Holden Manz: bold, meticulous, and deeply rooted in their Franschhoek terroir.
Holden Manz Chardonnay Reserve 2023, WO Western Cape, 13% Abv.
This Reserve Chardonnay from Holden Manz opens with an enthralling aromatics that’s bright, fragrant and deliciously complex, packed full of crystallised lemon slices, candied green melon and green apples dipped in salted caramel. In the mouth, there is real precision and balance, the mouthfeel harmonious, textural and fleshy with a glycerol concentration, picante phenolics of lemon peel, citrus bon bons, and a hint of spicy green apple on the finish. Bright, fruity and succulent while remaining spicy, minerally charged and decidedly sophisticated, this is another superb effort from Holden Manz. Drink now to 2032+.
Of all the wines in the Holden Manz range, the super premium Elysium is undoubtedly the most ambitious, opulent and hedonistic expression. Super ripe, full bodied and certainly no wilting daisy when it comes to concentration, this co-fermented Merlot – Syrah, only produced in years when these two grapes ripen at the same time, manages to elicit the best qualities from both cultivars, with the Merlot offering up plush, creamy, dense blueberry and black berry fruit nuances with the Syrah adding a savoury complexity, sweet Christmas spices and an enticing bramble berry wildness. Full throttle, seamlessly textured, dense and fleshy, the tannins are incredibly finessed and sweet, the acids well integrated beneath lashings of ripe black fruits. A powerful creation that retains a suave textural elegance with only a slight alcohol warmth accompanying the long, sweet fruited finish. Enjoy now and over the next 6 to 8+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Holden Manz wines are imported into the UK by Vindependents and sold retail by specialist South African merchants like Museum Wines and Woodwinters in Scotland.
Mount Etna, Europe’s tallest and most active volcano, is also home to one of Italy’s most distinctive wine appellations. Established in 1968 as Sicily’s first Denominazione di Origine Controllata, DOC Etna occupies a semi-circular band on the volcano’s slopes, with vineyards ranging from roughly 450 to over 1,000 metres above sea level. What makes Etna extraordinary is not simply its altitude or its volcanic soils, but the astonishing fragmentation of its terroir.
The formidable active volcano of Mount Etna.
Within this single appellation, the mountain is divided into named districts called Contrade, a system now formally recognized, with over 140 individually mapped zones based on historic lava flows, property boundaries, and family holdings dating back generations. Wine writers frequently compare this regional structure to Burgundy’s climats, since each Contrada represents a discrete parcel whose soils, exposure, and microclimate can differ meaningfully from its neighbour just a few hundred metres away, even though both may fall under the same broad DOC rules governing grape varieties and yields.
The soils around Etna are classified by the age of the lava flows. This is a recent 2002 eruption that destroyed a hotel and ski resort.
The Contrada system exists because Etna’s geology is not uniform. The volcano has erupted repeatedly over thousands of years, and each eruption deposited a distinct sciara, or lava flow, that weathered over time into its own particular soil structure, sometimes sandy and free – draining, sometimes dense with clay, sometimes strewn with porous lava stone.
The vegetation is also denser on the older lava flows, it normally taking 60 to 100 years before small trees are able to grow on the decomposing lava. The above soils are from the 1865 eruption.
Combined with the mountain’s four differing slopes, each with its own rainfall patterns, sun exposure, and proximity to the Ionian Sea, the result is a patchwork of microzones capable of producing wines with dramatically different character even when made from the same two principal grapes: Nerello Mascalese and, to a lesser degree, Nerello Cappuccio for red wines, and Carricante for the appellation’s whites.
Northern vineyards in Contrada Calderara Sottana near Randazzo looking South to the volcano, planted to mostly Nerello Mascalese.Benanti Winery is one of the island’s leaders in recording and analysing temperature, wind, and precipitation data across their vineyards through multiple mini weather stations.High altitude Nerello Mascalese vineyards in Contrada Dafara Galluzzo near the town of Rovittello, east of Randazzo. Here you will also find Benanti’s Alberello Centenario vines that go into their iconic Rovittello Etna Rosso Riserva.
The northern slope, generally considered the historic core of quality winemaking, tends to produce structured, tannic, mineral-driven reds from older, more decomposed lava soils. The eastern slope, cooled by sea breezes and higher rainfall, is Carricante’s traditional home, particularly around the commune of Milo, the only zone permitted to use the elevated Etna Bianco Superiore designation. The southern slopes, both southeast and southwest, offer warmer, sunnier exposures on comparatively younger volcanic soils, yielding wines that often show softer fruit and earlier approachability.
White Carricante vineyards in the Eastern Contrada Rinazzo, near the village of Milo, over looking the sea. This is the only Contrada that qualifies as Etna Bianco Superiore and is also home to the famous ‘Pietra Marina’ blocks on the highest slopes. Looking west up to the volcano from the Contrada Rinazzo Carricante vineyards.
No producer illustrates this diversity more completely than Benanti, as I discovered on my recent trip to Sicily in mid-June 2026. Founded in 1988 by businessman Giuseppe Benanti under the original name Tenuta di Castiglione, the estate is today widely credited as the modern pioneer of fine winemaking on Etna, and it remains the only winery farming vineyards on every slope of the DOC zone. Rather than blending fruit from scattered plots into a single generic Etna Rosso or Bianco, Benanti has built its identity around vinifying individual Contrade separately, treating each site as a distinct expression of the mountain, an approach that mirrors, quite deliberately, the single-vineyard philosophy of Burgundy.
Vineyards in Contrada Dafara Galluzzo near the village of Rovittello.
In the north, Benanti’s holdings center on Contrada Dafara Galluzzo, in the district of Rovittello near Castiglione di Sicilia, at roughly 750 metres of elevation. This site sits on some of the oldest, most decomposed lava on the mountain, part of the geological layer locals call Mongibelloantico. The vineyard is planted exclusively to Nerello Mascalese, including a small parcel of pre-phylloxera, ungrafted centenarian vines. This is the source of Rovittello, Benanti’s founding red wine and one of the estate’s flagship labels, along with the more recent Rovittello Riserva.
Wines from this northern site are typically described as aristocratic and austere, marked by firm tannins, deep earthy notes, and possess considerable aging potential, qualities widely associated with the northern slope’s cooler, higher-altitude character and older soil substrate.
Co-owner Salvino Benanti explaining the Contrada wines on the northern slopes.
On the eastern slopes, Benanti farms Contrada Rinazzo in the commune (and town) of Milo, a steep vineyard of small stone-walled terraces facing the Ionian Sea just a few miles away. Because Milo is the only area within the DOC permitted to produce Etna Bianco Superiore, this site is planted entirely to Carricante, trained in the traditional alberello, or head-trained bush vine, method. The area’s rainfall, humidity, and fine-grained volcanic soils encourage excellent water retention, producing whites of notable saline minerality and structure. From the higher, less sandy terraces here comes Pietra Marina, Benanti’s celebrated single-vineyard Etna Bianco Superiore and the wine that helped establish Carricante’s international reputation; the remainder of the site yields the more approachable Contrada Rinazzo bottling.
Terraced vineyards around the winery in the Contrada Monte Serra near the town of ViaGrande.Old Alberello Centenario Nerello Mascalese vines in Contrada Monte Serra, that are used for the Serra Della Contessa Etna Rosso Riserva.
To the south, Benanti’s story becomes slightly more complex, since the estate actually holds sites on both the southeastern and southwestern flanks of the volcano. The historic heart of the winery is Contrada Monte Serra in Viagrande, on the southeastern slope, where the family has grown grapes since the late nineteenth century and where the estate’s headquarters now sits amid extinct volcanic cones and red pumice soils known locally as ripiddu. This is a mixed-variety site, home to Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio, and some Carricante, and it produces both an Etna Rosso and an Etna Bianco under the Contrada Monte Serra label, as well as Serra della Contessa, a Riserva sourced from a tiny plot of centenarian, pre-phylloxera vines at the estate’s highest point.
Benanti’s southwestern vineyards in Contrada Cavaliere, looking north towards Mount Etna. Here Benanti grow Carricante, Nerello Mascalese and a little Nerello Cappuccio.Young Carricante peaberry grapes in Contrada Cavaliere in mid-June.New Benanti vineyard plantings in Contrada Cavaliere.
Further southwest, in Santa Maria di Licodia, Benanti also farms Contrada Cavaliere at around 900 metres, a partnership dating to the mid-1990s, where intense light and dramatic diurnal temperature swings on comparatively younger volcanic soils yield taut, high-altitude wines.
Vineyards in Contrada Cavaliere.
Taken together, Benanti’s five Contrade function almost as a working demonstration of Etna’s terroir diversity: northern structure and longevity, eastern saline precision, and southern warmth and earlier accessibility, all expressed through the same handful of native grape varieties. In this sense, Benanti’s portfolio is less a conventional producer lineup than a cartographic argument – proof, bottle by bottle, that the mountain is not simply one terroir but many great terroirs capable of producing some incredibly profound white and red wines.
(Watch out for Part 2 where I review Benanti’s full range of current wine releases, and then Part 3, where I highlight archive vintages from the winery, going back more than two decades.)
I travelled to DOC Etna in mid-June 2026 at the invitation of the Benanti winery, accompanied by their exclusive UK importer, Woodwinters. Contact Andrew@woodwinters.com for more information on allocations and trade pricing.
