Tenuta di Fessina, Etna Bianco DOC (Sicily, Italy) Carricante 2016

 From a tasting perspective, this is a wonderfully, highly complex delicious wine made from Sicily’s increasingly renowned Carricante grape variety.  From an analytical, critical perspective, it exceedingly impressive, and I’m actually struggling to recall the last time that I tasted a light- or medium-bodied wine that was more deftly and tastefully oaked.  The wine shows lovely fruit notes reminiscent of tart apple along with a creamier streak in the mid-palate recalling lemon curd.  The aromatic topnotes show very subtle oak notes with suggestions of spices and toasted nuts, and they meld perfectly with the fruit-based scents.  Mineral tinges in the finish lend even more complexity, yet the wine shows a remarkably pure and natural profile in overall terms thanks to superb integration and proportionality.  An expensive wine… that is worth every penny and more.  Fantastic now, this will be even better with another year of bottle age.