The 'new wave' in Sicilian wine-making arrived at the beginning of the 1990's. It was Planeta's Chardonnay that cleared the way for a new category of white wines. By no means were they just little cold drinks but they were important, structured, Mediterranean, and not necessarily straightforward. Carlo Corino was the wine-maker responsible for that first bottle, the result of Diego Planeta's inspiration, the chairman of Settesoli.

The vertical Tasting - Planeta Chardonnay

Since 1994, the first year it was produced, until the most recent, the '05, all the Chardonnay vintages, except the '97, have added to its history in the new wave of Sicilian wine. In some ways the tasting was a surprise, it showed us, even the sceptics, that this wine, with all its Mediterranean character, also has the power to resist time.

2005, 89 points
The year: A winter and spring of plentiful rain allowed the vines to accumulate good water reserves. The summer months of July, August and September had particularly cool temperatures which permitted the grapes to ripen perfectly in ideally healthy conditions.

The wine: Golden colour, very luminous, opening with intense and developing perfumes of tropical fruit, peach and orange flower, plus pleasant hints of balsam and Mediterranean macchia. The use of wood is sensed in the background. It is intense and full in the mouth, definitely alcoholic, well concentrated, sustained and well finished by its acidity, also responsible for the fine clean, fresh and sappy finish.

2004, 88 points
The year: Both winter and spring with plenty of rain and low temperatures prepared the vines splendidly. The summer was mild and sometimes even cool, enough to postpone the harvest for 15 days.

The wine: A golden colour with greenish lights. An intensely fruity nose in which yellow fruit and peach are enriched by suggestions of vanilla cream, heightening the use of wood, as well as almond and honey. Very full and rich, relying on a good basic acidity supporting the wine without too much effort. Taut and juicy, almost savoury, the enveloping finish loses no intensity.

2003, 91 points
The year: A normal winter and spring followed by a hot summer with, however, intermittently frequent and plentiful rainfall, particularly during the harvest.

The wine: Very intense colour. The wine opens with a complex bouquet, the fruit component particularly of melon and white peach, with pleasant fresh hints of herbs, especially rosemary. The taste of roasting, of honey and hazelnut are delicately introduced. In the mouth the fruit is good and clean, as is the tension which provides a somewhat spiky sensation. Very lively and energetic, it evokes iodised echoes of the sea. Enthralling and definitely in great form.

2002, 87 points
The year: A winter and spring with almost no rain followed by a summer with none, different from the rest of Italy. As a consequence production was low, distinguished by notable concentrations.

The wine: A vintage when the use of wood was as apparent to the nose as the mouth. To the intense fruit which generally characterises this wine are added hints of balsam, resin and citrus. An initial sensation of concentration in the mouth is followed by the impression that the wine loses some consistency at the finish because of a divided acidity probably due to the sustaining alcohol. At the finish the wood clearly returns, together with a general sense of evolution.

2001, 88 points
The year: A definitely cool summer, which produced very fruity full wines.

The wine: Definite, intense colour, with a nose providing tones of tropical fruit and vanilla, sweetish in some way and even smoked. In the mouth a feeling of reduction follows the initial fullness, when alcohol seems to play a predominant role. The sensation of fatigue in the centre of the mouth is also due to the strong presence of alcohol. It is restored at the finish, where its sappiness restores the balance.

2000, 90 points
The year: Considered the perfect year, with an average climate, well balanced, and finishing with a hot bright July and August.

The wine: Luminous and bright gold in colour, the wine provides a nose defined above all by mineral notes as well as the expected fruit, though crunchy rather than tropical fruit. There are obvious hints of flint, iodine, lemon, green apple and dried flowers, even some mint and sage. The wood is suggested solely through a suggestion of smokiness. The mouth reflects the nose with its austerity, not forgetting its Mediterranean origin; thus richness and roundness but also sappiness and length. A long developing finish - Sicily and personality.

1999, 87 points
The year: Both winter and spring were notable for their scarce rainfall, while the summer, and particularly August, had high temperatures.

The wine: Factors relating to heat, displayed both in nose and mouth, recall its first year of existence. The intense golden colour prepares one for the full nose, with distinctly sweet soft tones. Particularly dried apricot, barley caramel, vanilla sugar, marzipan and hazelnut. Also some balsamic notes, from mint to rosemary, and of Mediterranean macchia. The mouth follows on; full and soft, also due to a perceptible sugary residue, a lack of acidity resulting in reduced vigour, above all in the finish.

1998, 88 points
The year: A hot year, the first of a cycle which will distinguish the coming years precisely for this, some more and some less so. Winter and spring with higher temperatures than usual, little rainfall, a hot summer.

The wine: A very concentrated gold, almost amber, the wine offers an intense nose of ripe tropical fruit, with banana, pineapple, papaya. Notes of mint and vanilla are also evident, and with time also a certain tertiary layer recalling white chocolate, truffle and leather. The mouth is definitely rich and rounded, decidedly alcoholic, lightly tannic, with an acid component which reduces a little at the finish, leaving a sensation of light dilution.

1996, 91 points
The year: Cold, hot, cool. This was the year of 2006, with a cold and rainy winter and spring followed by early summer heat, then lower temperatures, and a comparatively cool August.

The wine: The first '1,000th' to be awarded a 'Tre Bicchieri', and the charge it carried then, without any question it still carries now. In the face of all those, and I put myself among them, who thought with so much presumption and pomposity that such a wine would not have kept up for so long. Instead we have to eat our words. A golden colour, as it should be, and an incredibly complex, intense and layered nose. Initially reduced and closed it soon offers delicate fresh fruit, nothing to do with exaggerated tropical maturity. Quince, pear, plum. Then orange blossom and unexpected vegetable hints. A balanced mouth, with a good dose of acidity corresponding to the fullness of the fruit. A dry, taut and dynamic finish.

1995, 89 points
The year: A particularly cool year without excessive peaks of temperature, even during the summer.

The wine: A golden and luminous colour with a complex nose where the fruit takes on second place with regard to smoky iodised notes, with hints of spice and vanilla. A dynamic and vigorous mouth, due to an acidity which shows no sign of lessening. A severe finish, with light dilution, with an aftertaste passing from citrus to roasting.

1994, 90 points
The year: The summer of this year is remembered as being one of the hottest of recent years in Sicily.

The wine: Fruit is not so much in evidence, or only the sort of fruit preserved in spirits. Rather barley caramel, spices, Mediterranean macchia, fur, leather, toasted hazelnuts. In the mouth the acidity is the distinguishing feature, giving length and elegance. A slight suggestion of wood emerges in the finish.