Grillo Giardinello DOC Sicilia 2022

In the heart of Sicily, a good 65km southwest of Palermo, the winery is located in the free communal consortium of Trapani. The family business was founded as early as 1958 by Vito's grandfather, but was abandoned in 1993 due to economic difficulties. Vito Lauria, who is deeply rooted in his homeland, then harboured the desire to revive the winery and to carry his family's vinophile heritage into the future. Familiar with his grandfather's working methods from an early age, he decided to study viticulture and oenology.

Grillo is originally native to the flat and calcareous soils around Trapani. Vito Lauria's plot is called Giardinello di Rapitalà and is located a good 50 km east of Palermo on the gently rolling slopes around Alcamo at an altitude of 600-700 metres with a northern exposure. This allows for long, even ripening and optimal aromatic expression of the variety. Harvested at the end of August, the yield averages six tonnes per hectare. The grapes are pressed and macerate on the skins for 24 hours under temperature control. Fermented spontaneously in steel tanks, the wine matures on its lees for six months before being put on sale.

Strong straw yellow, bright and clear.

The first coat of the 2022 Grillo Giardinello by VinoLauria is provided by a whole bellyful of citrus fruits - grapefruits, green mandarins and cedro lemons outline its citric side, before some fully ripe melon and small hairy quinces follow. All this stands on an unwavering mineral foundation, smelling of wet blackboard chalk and distinctive herbal spicy notes of sage, green tea and lemon balm.

Despite its expansive aromatics, it is incredibly disciplined and straightforward on the palate. It is dry and grounded by the salty minerality, the fine phenolic flanks it on the palate and underlines the tart, Mediterranean herbal notes. The fruit is pleasantly restrained in the extract, the ripe and charmingly integrated acidity transports all this into the aromatically complex finish. Juicy and powerful, trenchant Grillo with a high tipple factor.