This wine has lived many incarnations over the years, yet it remains one of the fundamental bottles to set the parameters for what we expect of a great white wine (made with the Carricante grape) from Etna. The Benanti 2016 Etna Bianco Superiore Pietra Marina was first produced in 1990, and with over 30 years of winemaking history, this is indeed a historic achievement. Today, fruit comes from the eastern side of Etna from the Contrada Rinazzo at 800 meters in elevation. This is a precise and sharply etched white wine that is driven primarily by volcanic or mineral intensity. There are fruity and floral aromas, but they remain secondary to the ash and crushed stone that is center stage. The results are tight, precise and elegant. Production is 8,000 bottles. This is a gorgeous edition of the celebrated Pietra Marina.

The 2015 Etna Bianco Superiore Pietra Marina (100% Carricante) is just so lovely. The wine is ethereal, light and delicate. On first nose, you get precise aromas of white peach, zesty pear and blanched almond. As the wine fleshes out and takes on more volume in the glass, it displays a beautiful array of mineral nuances. Those salty flinty notes will continue to evolve over the next ten years. It ages on the fine lees for 24 months in steel vats. Some 9,000 bottles were produced.

This is one of the wines that most shaped my Sicilian palate. The 2014 Etna Bianco Superiore Pietra Marina offers a rich and enduring bouquet of stone fruit, honey, toasted pistachio nuts and wild fennel. This wine is completely Sicilian in spirit and form. Of course, you will also recognize those characteristic volcanic notes of crushed mineral and salt. Fruit for Pietra Marina is sourced on the east side of Etna (in Milo) with vineyards planted at 800 meters above sea level.

This is the wine that, when I tasted it many years ago, made me fall in love with Etna. I'm sure I am not the only person to fall under its spell. The 2013 Etna Bianco Superiore Pietra Marina is a pure expression of Carricante that offers a beautiful bouquet, with marine salt and mineral notes, citrus and a twist of orange zest. The wine is linear and pure with a solid sense of structure that passes over the palate with delicate and silky intensity. It ages on the fine lees for 24 months. This was a soggy vintage, but the wine is refined and smooth nonetheless. Pietra Marina has a proven track record for cellar aging.

Light, buoyant and luminous, the 2012 Etna Bianco Superiore Pietra Marina is a sophisticated and true expression of Sicily's native Carricante grape. The wine shows tonic linearity and long determination, with citrus flavors, white peach and Golden Delicious apple. You also get a touch of volcanic sulfur and natural rubber that helps achieve a squeaky, extra polished texture. This Etna white shows good promise for long cellar aging, and those mineral notes will emerge with more intensity in time.