Hot Ice

Does anyone remember Tony Dallara? One of the pioneers of the so-called "screamers" of the 1960s? He sang many hit songs, won a Sanremo Festival paired with Renato Rascel with a famous rendition of Romantica. He also sang a song that became viral ante litteram and that was Boiling Ice. 

 

Given my age it came to mind while tasting the latest version of Planeta's Eruzione 1614 Riesling, that of 2021. A wine that I really liked, precisely because it is a kind of Hot Ice. Now, I do not mean to say that Rhine Riesling should be a new frontier for Etna wines, just as at the time Giacomo Tachis did not mean to say that Pinot Noir should be for reds in the same area. But I do think that considering noble exceptions of experimental wines like this or like some Pinot Noirs that Tachis helped to make, and in that case not even gone to market, is something legitimate. 

 

In this case, that Planeta Riesling reminded me of ice and fire, acidity and heat, a taut and dynamic balance on the palate and aromas of citrus, hints of hydrocarbons and some more exotic and Mediterranean notes. There are comparable examples in Claire Valley in Australia, for example, but in Sicily for the past few years Alessio Planeta has been consistently offering this Riesling, which I find surprising to say the least. And I say little. A true Hot Ice.

 

Click on the name to read the tasting notes: