Manfredi Grecanico, Terre Siciliane IGP 2023 - 75cl
Manfredi Franco was a lawyer in Milan and Rome before he went home to Marsala, on Sicily's western tip, and started making wine. His first vintage was 2020, made with barely a hectare and a half of old vines and a lot of guidance from Vincenzo Angileri of Viteadovest. The farming is organic, the winemaking natural: wild-yeast ferments, native varieties, minimal sulphur and no attempt to sand off the edges. This is small-scale grower wine in the truest sense.
The grape is Grecanico Dorato, a Sicilian white that DNA has shown to be the same variety as Garganega, the grape behind Soave. It ripens late and holds its acidity, which is why it stays fresh even under a Sicilian sun. What sets Manfredi's version apart is the handling: roughly half is pressed straight to tank, the other half sits on its skins for a couple of days. That gives you something deeper and more textural than the usual crisp, pale Sicilian white.
Expect a deep golden colour and a nose of citrus, dried herbs and something nutty and saline underneath. The skin-contact half adds grip and a light tannic tug, so the palate has more presence than you'd guess, with lemon-pith bite, a salty streak and a savoury, almost almond-skin finish. It's dry, characterful and made for the table rather than for sipping alone. Drink it over the next couple of years while its freshness holds.
How to Serve
Serve at 10-12°C, not fridge-cold, in a generous glass so the herbal and nutty notes can show. The light skin contact means it takes a little air well, so don't rush the first pour. A gentle chill flatters it; over-chilling hides the texture.
Where to Drink It
Sabor on Heddon Street, beside the Galician seafood. Barrafina, for the plancha-grilled prawns. Planque in Haggerston, which lives for this kind of low-intervention bottle.
Food Pairings
I'd pour it with fried calamari and a squeeze of lemon, or pasta with sardines and fennel in the Sicilian way. The saline, skin-textured side also handles grilled swordfish and even a plate of salumi.
