7/30/26 - 

As we head into August, I continue to look to Sicily to satisfy the desire for bright, sunny, loveable wines. Today's offer covers multiple parts of the island- to the west for Il Censo, south/central for Lamoresca, and then towards the Ionian sea for Mortellito and I Custodi. Whites, oranges, and reds are all featured here ranging from more playful to more structured and ageworthy. There is something for everyone! 

-Marisa Licandro

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Incredible New Vintages from Lamoresca

The new 2025 vintages from Lamoresca just dropped and they are tasting incredible, a bit more restrained, herbal, and fresh compared to 2024's more exuberant fruit and florals. They make two whites, 2025 Sicilia Bianco is made from Vermentino di Corso on clay soils giving the wine a saltiness, enhancing the aroma of preserved lemon, white florals, and herbs. The other is their most limited riserva white, 2024 Terre Siciliane Catarratto, which is a love letter to Catarratto Extra Ludido, a lower-yielding and aromatically complex sub-variety. Since this is their most limited bottling, quantities are finite, grab one if you see it in stock!
My personal favorite is their 2025 Sicilia Rosato, a traditional blend of Frappato and Nero d'Avola (with a touch of Moscato) from sandy soils. Strawberry & tomato leaves, mint, watermelon, cherry, violets, and a briny, smoky finish. 2025 Sicilia Nerocapitano is their 100% Frappato, a perfect wine for pizza night with scents of garden herbs. 2025 Sicilia Rosso is the flagship wine of the estate, a blend of Frappato & Nero d'Avola. Lastly, we come to Lamoresca's 2023 Elsa Rosso which is their only wine to feature Nerello Mascalese, and it sings with strawberry, leather, pink peppercorn, and fine tannins. This is their most age-worthy red, complementing the already fantastic lineup of fresh, vibrant wines.

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Il Censo, a Sicilian winery guided by Paolo Bea

Il Censo is an old estate going back hundreds of years in the north-central part of Sicily, a remote and mountainous zone. With the help of Giampiero Bea (of Paolo Bea), Gaetano and Nicoletta Gargano (pictured at top of article) reinvigorated their 65 hectares of grapevines, olive trees, grains, and legumes 25 years ago. The vineyards are situated on a volcanic outcropping where elevation reaches 700 meters!

The vinification is guided by the techniques employed at Paolo Bea, including native fermentations, no temperature control, and no fining or filtering. The wines carry this rustic Montefalco edge while retaining Sicilian sunshine notes on volcanic soils. Texturally quite unique, they have grip and depth while feeling sunny and lifted at the same time. Their 2022 Praruar Catarratto Terre Siciliane Bianco has 2-3 weeks of skin contact showing savory and earthy fruit, apricot skins, oolong tea, jasmine flowers, and walnut skins with a deep golden color. We also have their 2019 700 Nero d'Avola Terre Siciliane Rosso from a vineyard 700 meters above sea level, giving the wine its name. Earthy forest floor notes meets silky blue fruit meets rocky minerality. Upon release, this Nero d'Avola has enough age to enjoy immediately, but it can definitely age further. A bottle of 2015 opened recently at a wine dinner was the unexpected star of the night!

Fun fact, Cinema Paradiso was filmed not far from here in Palazzo Adriana!

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Mortellito Ponente Bianco Restock

Today we have a small restock of Dario Mortellito's top white wine, 2023 Ponente Bianco. 'Ponente' is the name of a clarifying, cool, and fresh wind that blows West to East in this southeast portion of Sicily near Noto. All Grillo coming from a single vineyard of pure limestone soils (Dario's most concentrated limestone). A brief stint of skin contact, not to make an orange wine, but rather to add texture and aroma to the final white wine, 18 months of aging in concrete, and 6 months in bottle. Dario's white with the most concentrated and pure minerality, this wine is a stunner and gives Chablis a run for its money! We also have a few bottles left of Dario's single vineyard Nero d'Avola, 2023 Nerissimo Rosso, with its silky, spicy black fruit as well as his 2024 Viaria Moscato.

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I Custodi 2021 Etna Bianco Ante, End of the Vintage

I Custodi is situated on the Eastern side of Mount Etna, the slightly more humid and salty side of the volcano from the winds of the Ionian Sea. Proprietors Mario and Manuela Paoluzi are members of I Vignieri, a consortium of Etna growers formed by Salvo Foti. Foti is actually the person who introduced the Paoluzis to their first vineyard site, which led to the birth of the I Custodi project in 2007. Today we have a small restock of the 2021 Etna Bianco Ante from the Contrada Puntalazzo at 750 meters above sea level. Aging is 18 months in stainless steel followed by at least 12 months in bottle. The nose is so stony and rocky, immediately calling to the terroir of Mount Etna. Lime leaf also came to mind, a bit broader and more aromatic than lime juice. The palate is expansive and open with hay, sweet corn and a slightly oxidative finish, characteristic of Carricante. This is the end of the vintage!

-Marisa Licandro

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