I Vigneri di Salvo Foti Aurora 2024

First made in 2013 from an abandoned vineyard that has been slowly replanted, Aurora is a characteristically uncompromising Etna Bianco from Salvo Foti, the winemaker who helped put Benanti on the map in the 1990s. Piercingly fresh aromas of lemon and lime juice appear on the nose, backed by nervy, highwire acidity that delivers a cool, faintly metallic snap. Somewhere in the enigmatic core of this tightly coiled wine is a leesy richness waiting to unfurl, signalled for now only by the slightest note of fresh alpine butter and camomile flowers. The fruit comes from the 2024 harvest, reaching only 11% alcohol naturally. Although from the Caselle contrada in Milo, this vintage does not qualify for Etna Bianco Superiore as the minimum abv required is 12%. Farmed and vinified with a low intervention approach, this is pristinely clean with laser-like focus, the 90% Carricante and 10% Minella Bianco aged only in steel for 12 months before bottling. It will need time to mellow and gain complexity, but if you like electrifyingly fresh whites such as good Aligoté or young Dauvissat, you will get a thrill out of this right now.