Giuseppe Polizzotti Scuderi divides his day between the countryside and the pharmacy, between passion and finance. 80 hectares held by the family for 6 generations in the countryside of Trapani, in the 1995 all converted to vineyards for the most part autochthonous; the winery was founded in 2000 and over time has been converted mainly to mono-varietal wines. Grillo Parlante 2017 Doc Sicilia is intense and elegant, while Per Te 2017 Igp Terre Siciliane represents the most authentic essence of Perricone.
A winery in a regime of reduction of pesticides used only if strictly necessary, grapes to “manage as little as possible” even if with copper and sulfur, fertilizer with the favino green manure and careful green pruning in general without thinning the bunches to bring the wine in balance between bunches and foliar apparatus.
The success of Fondo Antico is also linked to Lorenza Scianna, who joined the company in 2004, an enologist who combines a profound preparation for the typically feminine sensibility, as well as the intuition of Giuseppe Polizzotti who leads the company respecting the sicilian terroir and its heritage.
Lorenza wants to get more fragrances and longevity, often making wine in reduction, using dry ice and inert gases. It uses selected yeasts, those that do not alter the original characteristics of the grapes, not adding any hint, as they still manage to give greater guarantees in obtaining good wines even in less favorable years. The production reaches 400 thousand bottles in 13 labels on 3 lines. The vineyards are at an altitude between 50 and 250 meters.
We taste the best known and most produced wine, with 65 thousand sbottles: the Grillo Parlante 2017 Doc Sicilia, which owes its great success not only to its goodness but also to its name; one of the first, if not the first ever, single-variety Grillo. It grows in low-altitude vineyards, vinified in reduction with selected yeasts to guarantee results but without altering their organoleptic character; 4 months sur lies in steel. In the straw-yellow color very discharged, to the nose an explosion of yellow flowers, peach, passion fruit, cedar, almond; it is intense, very clean, very elegant. On the palate it proves amazing for its balance and for its minerality which results in a salivating good flavor, right consistency and a pleasant hint of bitterness. A wine that can also accompany fried artichokes.
We also tasted Per Te 2017 IGP Terre Siciliane Perricone in purity, a typical and autochthonous vine from western Sicily; it is vinified in the simplest way to respect it. The Perricone, in that area, hardly reaches full ripeness for which you get an alcohol content of 12.5 ° which invites you to drink a few more glasses, makes 6 months in steel and does not clarify. In the glass the color is ruby, expresses hints of raspberry, black cherry, plum jam, mild dry herbaceous note, balsam, white pepper in a jumble of satisfying emotions; even better on the palate with innate freshness without excess of acidity, velvety tannins, balanced structure, a youthful, lean, modern, non-binding wine with an excellent fragrance, a wine that you would not stop drinking from the aperitif to the meat also passing for fish with tomato and aromatic herbs.
Two amazing wines that should not be missed.
The original article is on Italia a Tavola written by Gianni Paternò