Alessandro di Camporeale, Sicilia DOC (Sicily, Italy) Grillo 2018

 Due to the very wet conditions of the growing season during 2018 (at least in the western sections of Sicily), this wine is unusually lean and zesty in this vintage, so don’t assume that other vintages will show the same character.  In most years, it would be bigger, juicier and more tropical in fruit profile, and more akin to the big renditions of Grillo that are more widely available in the USA from Sicily’s various coastal regions.  By contrast, this 2018 is openly fruity but downright prickly with acidity, as it was vinified reductively in stainless steel with 6 months of lees contact.  It shows some citrus rind bitterness in the finish, but that’s beautifully offset by the fresh fruit notes, and the overall effect is both complex and harmonious.  This is an example of a very skilled viticultural and winemaking team making lemonade from a lemon, which is also to say that this is a world class winery deserving of a much higher profile than it enjoys currently in the USA.