Since 1998, Alessio Planeta has overseen a remarkable winemaking journey at the family’s business. The firm has several wineries in Sicily with his Chardonnay, which retails for £35 a bottle, coming from Menfi, the DOC southwest of Palermo. This is now seen as one of the standard bearers of premium Sicilian white wine. But the winemaker focus has recently been to tour the world to raise the profile of the more modest La Segreta offerings from the range.
The theme has been ‘botanical’ and, after visits to gardens from as far afield as Tokyo, Planeta has chosen the historic Nash Glasshouse in the Royal Botanical Garden in Kew to host his celebration in London. La Segreta comprises two reds and two whites that retail in the UK for £15.50.
The wines have always been produced solely from the vineyards owned by the Planeta family and are now organic. After the brand’s redesign, the labels sport illustrations of Sicilian flora borrowed from precise drawings of herbs and flowers and roots dating back two hundred years.
“Wine describes a place,” Planeta tells me. And the four wines are exemplars of that. He believes it’s easy to be organic in the southern Mediterranean where the rain comes during “a season while the vines are asleep.”
Whereas he turned to international varietals for some the estate’s top-of-the-range flagship wines, Planeta has given indigenous grapes more of a look-in with these cheaper La Segreta wines.
Take the Grillo Sicilia DOC. From Menfi, this is made entirely with the Grillo varietal, the classic full-bodied western Sicilian white grape. The bunches are gathered by hand and matured, like all the wines, in stainless steel. There is citrus on the nose plus peach and tropical fruits while the wine is fresh and smooth on the palate.
Grillo comprises only 20% of the other white in the range, the Bianco Sicilia DOC. Among the other grapes are 40% Grenache and 20% Chardonnay. Again, there are tropical fruits but with hints of melon and a fresh acidity.
Onto the reds and the Rosso Sicilia DOC is 50% Nero d’Avola, 25% Merlot, 20% Syrah and 5% Cabernet Franc. This is a highly approachable blend. The aromas are of currants and the tannins are welcoming, smooth and soft.
Finally, the Nero D’Avola is 100% Nero d’Avola. The tannins here are fuller and there are aromas of plum and wild fruit. Nero D’Avola is Sicily’s most widely planted red wine variety valued for its colour, full body and ageing potential.
All the wines have an ABV of between 12.5% and 13%. Planeta wants to keep the wines down to that sort of level to maintain their drinkability in the southern Mediterranean sunshine.
As a final nod to sustainability, Planeta has also begun to use recycled bottles made entirely locally.
Separated at birth - Victor Smart and Allesio Planeta (l-r)
La Segreta wines are imported and sold in the UK by Enotria&Co and the Great Wine Company.
Enotria&Co is a commercial partner of The Buyer. To discover more about them click here.
