Questo vino
Vineyard and terroir
The vines grow on the southwestern slope of Mount Etna at 800 m above sea level. The terraced vineyards are planted with young vines on volcanic soil formed by ancient lava flows from Etna. The estate cultivates 60 hectares of vineyards within a property of more than 300 hectares, planted only with French varieties: Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and several other Bordeaux varieties, including Pinot Noir, some of whose vines date back to the original planting in the 19th century.
Vinification
The grapes are harvested by hand. Vinification takes place in truncated cone-shaped oak vats.
Ageing
Two years in French oak barriques from Allier and Tronçais, followed by 4–5 years in bottle.
Label / history
Secondo di Castello Solicchiata belongs to Ab Insula, Planeta's collection of wines from Sicily ("from the island"); the project also includes Serra Ferdinandea and Castello Solicchiata. According to Baron Arnaldo Spitaleri, the wine was inspired by an old Bordeaux blend and is made with varieties grown on the estate for more than 150 years. His ancestor Baron Felice Spitaleri, who founded the winery, was the first to experiment with and plant these grapes, inspired by the passion for Bordeaux vines he developed during a long stay in France.
Castello Solicchiata was founded in the mid-19th century by the Spitaleri di Muglia family, of very ancient noble origin. The name derives from the Hospitallers, the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem, later Maltese Crusader barons, who settled on Mount Etna at the end of the 13th century on their return from Jerusalem to sell wine. In 1855 Baron Felice Spitaleri, the youngest senator in the Kingdom of Italy, conceived a French-style castle on Etna surrounded by hundreds of terraces carved into the lava rock, with a pioneering model of wine production. Father Francesco Tornabene, geobotanist and ampelographer, was entrusted with the experiments with non-native French varieties. Andrea Scala, architect of the Bellini Theatre in Catania, oversaw the architectural project and, inspired by the boxes of Italian theatres, designed more than 300 hectares of terraced vineyards.
The estate's wines won First Prize at the London Exhibition in 1888, then the Grand Diploma of Honor and a Gold Medal in Palermo (1889), Vienna (1890), Berlin (1892), Brussels (1893) and Milan (1894). It became the first official supplier to the Italian royal court. The estate is almost inaccessible to visitors. The Castello Solicchiata range comprises 6 wines. Since 2022 Planeta has handled distribution and supported production and vineyard management.
