According to official sources, at the beginning of the 20th century Lady Maria Costanza, an ancestor of the family, cultivated the vine and, in a small winery in Campobello di Licata, produced wines appreciated by the local customer. It will be necessary to wait until the end of the ’60s to see the birth, by the hand of Giuseppe Milazzo, of the homonymous Azienda Agricola G. Milazzo, also in Campobello di Licata, but it can be said that the road was already laid out. The intention of the company was, from the beginning, to work following the double track of the revaluation of traditional and territorial vines, and experimentation on the so-called international vines (especially Chardonnay). After over half a century of history, the winery, led by Giuseppina Milazzo and her husband Saverio Lo Leggio, continues on the path traced by the founder, with the aim of maintaining high reputation of its wines.
One of the first measures adopted, already in the ’70s, by this winery, was to affix as a mark, over the neck of the bottles produced, a reproduction of the Kingfisher, an extremely delicate bird that, to live, needs a healthy and uncontaminated environment. This was a choice necessary to explain to the buyer how much the winery took at heart an organic and “clean” approach, at every stage of production, in an era in which there were still no official certifications. Currently that brand has remained, even if the company has joined the organic certification, and is already implementing it with actions aimed at drastically reducing CO2 emissions.
The 75 hectares of owned vineyards are located at about 400 meters above sea level, in a radius of less than 5 km2, on soils ranging from dark clays, rich in organic substances, to white limestone. Here the vines, planted at an average density of 5000 vines per hectare, are taken care of almost exclusively by hand, with the simple organic fertilization. In the harvest period, after a first selection in plant, the grapes are harvested in boxes of about 15 kg and brought to the cellar, where they are stored in special cells at controlled temperature. The vinification phases are managed with a careful use of cold technology, which allows to manage in a balanced way fermentations and macerations, in a cellar almost entirely underground that guarantees an ideal constant average temperature.
It is impossible to mention this winery without mentioning their Duca di Montalbo, a wine produced only in the best vintages by a blend of Nero d’Avola and Nerello Cappuccio, from plants over 50 years of age, grown in Montalbo, on a plateau of marl and limestone clays. After the manual selection in the vineyard, the wine is vinified, with constant pumping over and long maceration on the skins, followed by malolactic fermentation in barrique for Nero d’Avola and in large barrels for Nerello Cappuccio. The wine ages then for four years, always in barrique and in large casks, before making a period of decantation in steel tanks and, after bottling, a long aging in glass.
The 2004 vintage has a really concentrated and intense red color, with purple streaks, and a range of aromas that start with hints of cooked plum, creme de cassis, wild blackberry and pout pourri, followed by Mediterranean maquis, Licorice, dark chocolate and sweet pipe tobacco, with conclusive boisée echoes of dark leather, vinyl and roasted coffee. The palate strikes for its great texture, with an evident softness balanced by good balsamic freshness and sapidity, embedded in the middle of a great elegance tannic texture; all embellished by the return of fruit and spices that persist even after an excellent length closure.
Rating: 91/100
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