Benanti
About Benanti
Situated near the foot of Mount Ena on the Italian island of Sicily, Cantina Benanti has been family owned and operated since the late 1800s. Benanti is one of the most historic estates in the region. Bringing these electrifying wines to the global stage, Robert M. Parker Jr once rated them as “among the best made on the volcano today”. Monica Larner (Wine Advocate) goes even further, declaring that their Pietra Marina is “the wine that, when I tasted it many years ago, made me fall in love with Etna”.
Despite this heritage, this Sicilian gem has taken an entirely updated and modern approach to viticulture with particular respect and reverence shown for the island's rich, distinctive volcanic soils and indigenous grape varieties. The star of Benanti is rising among Italian wineries with its bottles increasingly sought after at home and abroad.

Product Name | Region | Qty | Score | Price | |||||
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|
Sicily | 10 | 97 (DC) |
Inc. VAT
£2,691.89 |
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Decanter (97)This definitive wine of pure Carricante is given extensive contact on the lees, without wood, taking its structure from the grapes and terroir. Pale with golden highlights, it offers iodised notes on the expressive nose and an almost shy (still very young) palate that builds slowly in the mouth to a finale of energy and length. |
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|
Sicily | 2 | 95 (VN) |
Inc. VAT
£1,898.69 |
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Vinous (95)The 2017 Etna Bianco Superiore Pietra Marina makes itself known with a beguiling bouquet that blends crushed oyster shells with rosemary, young apricot and hints of smoke. It’s deeply textural and elegant in feel, with ripe pit fruits that cascade across a core of zesty acids, as nuances of green citrus pinch at the cheeks. This leaves the palate buzzing with residual energy; fresh melon tones linger and are framed by a coating of salty minerality. While the 2017 shows a bit of extra ripeness from the warm vintage, it does so in such a seductive and balanced way. This is top-shelf Etna Bianco by every scope of the imagination. The Pietra Marina is an old-vines selection of Carricante from the Rinazzo Contrada on Etna’s eastern slope. It refines for 24 months on the lees in stainless steel vats prior to bottling. |
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|
Sicily | 1 | 97 (JS) |
Inc. VAT
£421.24 |
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James Suckling (97)Stand back as this extremely intense and vibrant Etna dry white arrives! As many herbal and positively vegetal aromas as white fruit and citrus. Super-sleek and focused palate with a dangerous amount of mineral energy and samurai sword acidity. The finish lasts for minutes! Enormous aging potential. Drink or hold. |
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|
Sicily | 1 | 97 (JS) |
Inc. VAT
£283.24 |
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James Suckling (97)It's time to taste the volcano! Although this is still very young, it has an amazingly refined nose that reminds us of top-class red Burgundy. Quite full-bodied, but super-elegant and transparent, with very fine tannins that build to a stunning crescendo at the mineral finish. Patience will be rewarded! Drinkable now, but best from 2023. |
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|
Sicily | 6 | - |
Inc. VAT
£255.89 |
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|
Sicily | 4 | 88 (VN) |
Inc. VAT
£255.89 |
|||||
Vinous (88)The 2020 Etna Bianco is sweetly floral with notes of chamomile, crushed apples and hints of flint. It impresses with a combination of ripeness and inner tension, offering citrus-tinged orchard fruits and a steely minerality that comes forward toward the close. Hints of lime and sour melon linger as this wraps up with cheek-puckering freshness; it also leaves a bit of an odd green botanical note that seems out of place. |
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|
Sicily | 1 | 91 (VN) |
Inc. VAT
£1,628.69 |
|||||
Vinous (91)The 2018 Etna Bianco Contrada Superiore Rinazzo is a bit understated, yet it still shows a pretty display of steely lemon, nectarines and tropical florals. This is soothingly smooth and round in feel, delivering a savory mix of wild herbs and orchard fruits, along with an almondy richness that lingers through the finale. It cleans up very nicely, as residual acids slowly fizzle out and leave a bitter twang of sour citrus. |
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|
Sicily | 5 | 87 (VN) |
Inc. VAT
£205.49 |
|||||
Vinous (87)The 2019 Etna Rosso is savory in the glass with dried strawberries, dusty rose and hints of wet stone forming a slightly understated bouquet. It’s fleshy in feel, yet balance is maintained through a blend of tart red berries and brisk acidity. This leaves a staining of primary concentration, along with a bitter twang of cherry pits that linger. The 2019 is a serviceable Etna Rosso, yet it lacks momentum. |
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|
Sicily | 10 | - |
Inc. VAT
£204.29 |
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|
Sicily | 10 | 95 (VN) |
Inc. VAT
£1,628.69 |
|||||
Vinous (95)The 2015 Etna Rosso Rovittello Riserva is coy and understated, offering up hints of black cherry, dusty rose and flowery undergrowth. It’s silky yet youthfully dense in feel and quite savory, the salty minerals and spice taking center stage, while black fruits and grippy tannins come forward more toward the finish, and finishes youthfully dry and structured, allowing only nuances of currant and purple-tinged florals to resonate. This new Rovittello Riservais sourced from a small parcel of pre-phylloxera vines on Etna’s northern slope. After a long maceration, the wine spends 24 months refining in large, 15-hectoliter French oak casks. There’s certainly a lot of potential here, and it will be very interesting to follow the wine’s development over time. |
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|
Sicily | 1 | 94 (VN) |
Inc. VAT
£458.65 |
|||||
Vinous (94)Ashen stone and animal musk give way to dusty florals, spiced citrus and dried black cherries, as the 2015 Etna Rosso Serra della Contessa Riserva dramatically opens up in the glass. It’s deceptively soft and juicy in feel, casting a pure display of ripe red and black fruits across a core of zesty acids, yet with fine tannins that slowly saturate toward the finale. This finishes with persistence, but also with a hulking structure that will require years to resolve, as inner rose notes and tart woodland berries linger longer. This is the inaugural vintage of the Serra della Contessa Riserva, a single-parcel selection of pre-phylloxera vines. |
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|
Sicily | 2 | 94 (VN) |
Inc. VAT
£2,421.89 |
|||||
Vinous (94)Ashen stone and animal musk give way to dusty florals, spiced citrus and dried black cherries, as the 2015 Etna Rosso Serra della Contessa Riserva dramatically opens up in the glass. It’s deceptively soft and juicy in feel, casting a pure display of ripe red and black fruits across a core of zesty acids, yet with fine tannins that slowly saturate toward the finale. This finishes with persistence, but also with a hulking structure that will require years to resolve, as inner rose notes and tart woodland berries linger longer. This is the inaugural vintage of the Serra della Contessa Riserva, a single-parcel selection of pre-phylloxera vines. |
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|
Sicily | 8 | - |
Inc. VAT
£201.89 |
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Product Name | Region | Qty | Score | Price | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Sicily | 10 | 97 (DC) |
In Bond
£2,224.00 |
|||||
Decanter (97)This definitive wine of pure Carricante is given extensive contact on the lees, without wood, taking its structure from the grapes and terroir. Pale with golden highlights, it offers iodised notes on the expressive nose and an almost shy (still very young) palate that builds slowly in the mouth to a finale of energy and length. |
|||||||||
|
Sicily | 2 | 95 (VN) |
In Bond
£1,563.00 |
|||||
Vinous (95)The 2017 Etna Bianco Superiore Pietra Marina makes itself known with a beguiling bouquet that blends crushed oyster shells with rosemary, young apricot and hints of smoke. It’s deeply textural and elegant in feel, with ripe pit fruits that cascade across a core of zesty acids, as nuances of green citrus pinch at the cheeks. This leaves the palate buzzing with residual energy; fresh melon tones linger and are framed by a coating of salty minerality. While the 2017 shows a bit of extra ripeness from the warm vintage, it does so in such a seductive and balanced way. This is top-shelf Etna Bianco by every scope of the imagination. The Pietra Marina is an old-vines selection of Carricante from the Rinazzo Contrada on Etna’s eastern slope. It refines for 24 months on the lees in stainless steel vats prior to bottling. |
|||||||||
|
Sicily | 1 | 97 (JS) |
In Bond
£335.00 |
|||||
James Suckling (97)Stand back as this extremely intense and vibrant Etna dry white arrives! As many herbal and positively vegetal aromas as white fruit and citrus. Super-sleek and focused palate with a dangerous amount of mineral energy and samurai sword acidity. The finish lasts for minutes! Enormous aging potential. Drink or hold. |
|||||||||
|
Sicily | 1 | 97 (JS) |
In Bond
£220.00 |
|||||
James Suckling (97)It's time to taste the volcano! Although this is still very young, it has an amazingly refined nose that reminds us of top-class red Burgundy. Quite full-bodied, but super-elegant and transparent, with very fine tannins that build to a stunning crescendo at the mineral finish. Patience will be rewarded! Drinkable now, but best from 2023. |
|||||||||
|
Sicily | 6 | - |
In Bond
£194.00 |
|||||
|
Sicily | 4 | 88 (VN) |
In Bond
£194.00 |
|||||
Vinous (88)The 2020 Etna Bianco is sweetly floral with notes of chamomile, crushed apples and hints of flint. It impresses with a combination of ripeness and inner tension, offering citrus-tinged orchard fruits and a steely minerality that comes forward toward the close. Hints of lime and sour melon linger as this wraps up with cheek-puckering freshness; it also leaves a bit of an odd green botanical note that seems out of place. |
|||||||||
|
Sicily | 1 | 91 (VN) |
In Bond
£1,338.00 |
|||||
Vinous (91)The 2018 Etna Bianco Contrada Superiore Rinazzo is a bit understated, yet it still shows a pretty display of steely lemon, nectarines and tropical florals. This is soothingly smooth and round in feel, delivering a savory mix of wild herbs and orchard fruits, along with an almondy richness that lingers through the finale. It cleans up very nicely, as residual acids slowly fizzle out and leave a bitter twang of sour citrus. |
|||||||||
|
Sicily | 5 | 87 (VN) |
In Bond
£152.00 |
|||||
Vinous (87)The 2019 Etna Rosso is savory in the glass with dried strawberries, dusty rose and hints of wet stone forming a slightly understated bouquet. It’s fleshy in feel, yet balance is maintained through a blend of tart red berries and brisk acidity. This leaves a staining of primary concentration, along with a bitter twang of cherry pits that linger. The 2019 is a serviceable Etna Rosso, yet it lacks momentum. |
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|
Sicily | 10 | - |
In Bond
£151.00 |
|||||
|
Sicily | 10 | 95 (VN) |
In Bond
£1,338.00 |
|||||
Vinous (95)The 2015 Etna Rosso Rovittello Riserva is coy and understated, offering up hints of black cherry, dusty rose and flowery undergrowth. It’s silky yet youthfully dense in feel and quite savory, the salty minerals and spice taking center stage, while black fruits and grippy tannins come forward more toward the finish, and finishes youthfully dry and structured, allowing only nuances of currant and purple-tinged florals to resonate. This new Rovittello Riservais sourced from a small parcel of pre-phylloxera vines on Etna’s northern slope. After a long maceration, the wine spends 24 months refining in large, 15-hectoliter French oak casks. There’s certainly a lot of potential here, and it will be very interesting to follow the wine’s development over time. |
|||||||||
|
Sicily | 1 | 94 (VN) |
In Bond
£379.00 |
|||||
Vinous (94)Ashen stone and animal musk give way to dusty florals, spiced citrus and dried black cherries, as the 2015 Etna Rosso Serra della Contessa Riserva dramatically opens up in the glass. It’s deceptively soft and juicy in feel, casting a pure display of ripe red and black fruits across a core of zesty acids, yet with fine tannins that slowly saturate toward the finale. This finishes with persistence, but also with a hulking structure that will require years to resolve, as inner rose notes and tart woodland berries linger longer. This is the inaugural vintage of the Serra della Contessa Riserva, a single-parcel selection of pre-phylloxera vines. |
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|
Sicily | 2 | 94 (VN) |
In Bond
£1,999.00 |
|||||
Vinous (94)Ashen stone and animal musk give way to dusty florals, spiced citrus and dried black cherries, as the 2015 Etna Rosso Serra della Contessa Riserva dramatically opens up in the glass. It’s deceptively soft and juicy in feel, casting a pure display of ripe red and black fruits across a core of zesty acids, yet with fine tannins that slowly saturate toward the finale. This finishes with persistence, but also with a hulking structure that will require years to resolve, as inner rose notes and tart woodland berries linger longer. This is the inaugural vintage of the Serra della Contessa Riserva, a single-parcel selection of pre-phylloxera vines. |
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|
Sicily | 8 | - |
In Bond
£149.00 |
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