Feudo Montoni - Grand Cru wine from Sicily

4/15/19 -

Feudo Montoni is about 60 miles south and east of Palermo – not very far, but worlds removed from the hustle of Palermo; little has changed at Montoni and in the surrounding countryside, so you could also say that it’s removed from Palermo by centuries. This is the region that was once “the granary of the Roman Empire” – fertile and covered in wheat.  I’ve been there in late spring (very green) and in late summer (very brown, except for the vines) and the photos don’t do it any justice – the landscape is both dream-like and magnificent. Over the hill to the east is Tasca d’Almerita, still an important wine producer and one of the last intact feudal estates in Sicily – think of “The Leopard” and you get the idea.

We imagine Sicily as being very hot – anyone who’s traipsed around acres of ancient rubble there in the summer would not dispute that impression – but it also snows at Montoni, and the vines are high enough in elevation to moderate the hottest weather (at 650+ meters these are some of the highest plantings of Nero d'Avola, and the white grapes are planted at over 1000 meters), and there is a steady prevailing wind off the sea to the north.

The Montoni vineyards (first recorded as planted in the 1500’s) make an island of vines in a sea of wheat, grass, and sheep. Phylloxera never reached Montoni; they have always re-planted using their own vines, and so claim their own particular clone of Nero d’Avola. Chemical treatments and fertilizers have never been used on the vines, and the winemaking is equally old-fashioned. Here Nero d’Avola can achieve the expressive potential and finesse of the best examples from eastern Sicily, and the white wines are also of great quality, varietally distinctive, with good cut and freshness. Jamie Wolff

PS: the wines will be ready for pick-up tomorrow, or for delivery on Wednesday.

This is a new book - a lovely and most delicious book - by our friend Melissa Fasullo Muller, partner in life with Fabio Sireci, owner of Feudo Montoni. Now you can have your wine and eat the real thing with it too!