Alcesti, Grillo Edesia Sicilia Bio, 2024

Grapes

Grillo

Vintage report

Sicily in 2024 had a growing season that kept growers on their toes. A dry, warm spring pushed the vines into an early rhythm, and while summer heat is hardly unusual on the island, 2024 brought spells of real intensity that put pressure on vineyards at lower elevations — those without altitude or careful canopy management felt it most. The saving grace was a cooler late summer and early autumn that gave grapes time to recover phenolic ripeness without simply cooking their acidity away. Producers who could wait were rewarded.

The result is a vintage that rewards the patient buyer. Nero d'Avola has come through with real depth and grip, retaining the kind of freshness that can go missing in hotter years. Nerello Mascalese from Etna, where elevation does half the winemaker's work, looks particularly promising — structured and precise, with the tension that makes those wines worth cellaring. Most whites and lighter reds are drinking well now; the better reds from serious producers will hit their stride from 2026 and hold comfortably until the early 2030s.