Famiglia Statella Etna Bianco / 2024 / 750mL

The Famiglia Statella Etna Bianco 2024 is a crisp, mineral-driven white from the volcanic slopes of Etna in Sicily, built around the Carricante grape. It has the saline cut and lemony drive that mark out whites grown on Etna's dark, free-draining soils.

Aromas lean towards green apple, lemon pith and white blossom, with a chalky, almost smoky edge underneath that gives the wine a savoury lift rather than overt fruit sweetness.

The palate is lean and taut, with firm acidity running the length of it and a texture that feels more stony than creamy. There is enough weight through the middle to stop it feeling austere, and the finish is dry, faintly bitter in the appealing Italian way, and long on citrus and sea spray.

Serve it with grilled whole fish, prawns with garlic and chilli, salt-baked potatoes, or a plate of oysters. It also handles richer seafood dishes such as swordfish or a seafood risotto, where the acidity does the work a squeeze of lemon otherwise would.

Drink the Etna Bianco 2024 from now through to around 2029. It is fresh and ready in its youth, though a couple of years in bottle will soften the edges and bring out more of the nutty, waxy character Carricante develops with time.