I Custodi

It’s Spring, yet all of a sudden the air is becoming bitter cold.  Extreme diurnal temperature swings mark one of many differences that make Mt. Etna different from the sun-n-fun vibe you usually find in Sicilia. We grab our jackets and start walking among I Custodi’s gnarly bush vines, curled into the stark black soils. The muted sun falls on cooled lava flows and crumbled pomice. Dry-terraced lava walls demarcate the vista. This might be like to grow vines on the moon!

From its beginning in 2007, local owner Mario Paoluzi set the groundwork to make I Custodi  an Etna fuoriclasse, as the Italians say, one of the greats. Besides sending us many cell phone pics of when A Muntagna is erupting, he has had unwavering passion to work exclusively with the ancient albarello bush vines, some of which in his possession are 150+ years old. He also has key vineyards holdings on the northern and southeastern slopes, and a cellar that allows for long ferments and extended elevage.* The flagship old-vine rosso Aetneus is often released after 4-6 years in bottle; their Etna Bianco Superiore has at least 2 years of bottle age.

I Custodi, Contrade**, and Slopes
The ancient contrade are geographically plots kinda similar to cru growing areas in other parts of the wine-growing world. Forward-thinking producers are starting to specify the contrada name on the wine label, and in the upcoming years, there will no doubt be a sussing out of whichcontrade (of the current 133 ***) make the most interesting wines, with the best terroir, including old vines. We said kinda for a reason.Burgundy has quite a jump of the cru system, and contrade can be as small as hectare or 1000. Add to that that the boundary lines of the contrade change, and so too the ones admitted and not admitted into the official contrade of the DOC: We’ve contacted the Etna Consorizio for a map of Etna with all the contrada in 2021, and they assure us it is forthcoming. So, we shall see, but for now, maybe it makes more sense to concentrate on the different slopes.

I Custodi has their winery and the majority of their 12 hectares on the northern slope, in the contrade of Moganazzi (Aetneus bottling of oldest vines and others for Pistus), and Feudo di Mezzo (Saeculare bottling of their oldest vines of 150 years old and more). The northern slope is known to be one of the driest, coldest, and with the most concentration of the more elegant Nerello grape variety, Nerello Mascalese. Northern slope reds have long tannins, providing great vertical structure to the wines, not unlike the best Nebbiolo wines.

For the white wines, I Custodi has most of their most interesting vineyards on the southeastern slope, in the Contrada Taverna, just above the famous area of Milo. Here the air is humid and salty, with wafts of air coming up from the  from the Ionian Sea below. Even if Milo is officially demarcated as the Etna Superiore area, perhaps here just a bit north of Milo, the Carricante grapes are even healthier with the extra wind. It’s here that the Ante bottling comes from; a stark and mineral-volcanic driven wine, appreciated but those seeking terroir purity. Imbris is the Etna Superiore bottling in Milo, here complexity reigns, with a bit extra weight and gravitas coming from extended lees contact.

Etna is beyond the ‘cool kid’ phase, and we’re starting to see the best producers emerge, in what is now recognized by all as a world-class growing area, capable of making delicious and savoury wines, but also world-class ones . I Custodi has been on the Etna journey from the beginning, and dedicating themselves every year to tending the vineyards, and the wine in the cellar. They’ve managed to do what few producers have: channel the raw emotion of these active volcanic wines, but also to preserve the aromatics and structure of old vine vineyards, give them plenty of bottle time before release.

* It’s worth noting that the majority of vineyard holdings (46.8% ) are less than 1 hectare on Etna, and rent external space for vinification and bottling, usually giving mixed results. To have a proper cellar, where you can ‘follow’ the wines, remains a key component of creating world-class wines. 2020 data from a PDF sent from Consorzio Tutela Vini Etna DO.
** Ante bottling = Contrada Taverna; Alnus = Contrada Moganazzi; Pistus = Contrada Moganazzi; Aetneus = Contrada Moganazzi; Saeculare = Contrada Feudo di Mezzo; Imbris = Contrada Caselle; Aedes = Contrada Moganazzi