Travel

Feudo Montoni: Emotions and soul of Sicily
«Magnum» №6-7(9) 2006

If angels lived on earth, they would probably settle in Feudo Montoni.

It captivates with boundless curves of hills of emerald, sunny and azure colours. Their palette cannot be transferred even to the most masterful canvas. Here comes a feeling of incredible freedom — you suddenly become the lord of the world and never want to leave the place. But reality comes back, Montoni colours fade and erase from memory — until you open a bottle of wine and again live through a magic experience that was once bestowed by this land…

The weather in Sicily was catastrophic in those few days of March — gales, storms, hail and even snow in the middle of the island where almond trees normally blossom at that time. “Don’t worry, when we will get to Feudo Montoni, the sun will be shining”, Fabio Sireci was trying to calm me, when we were desperately trying to get through roads of central Sicily, covered either with torrents of water or layers of snow. And the magic happened. Greyish-whitish shreds of clouds reluctantly parted. Rays of sunlight here and there highlighted an emerald valley of Feudo Montoni. The sight was unforgettable.

If was easy to understand Fabio’s love of his land after that. He, unlike many others, talks about the soul and emotions of vineyards and wines, about their inseparable link with Sicily. “I love Sicily the way it is. It is like our women — with black eyes and black hair. To me it is not important if they are not in everybody’s taste. Its wines are the same”, he thinks.

The Sireci family bought Feudo Montoni estate in early 20th century. In the heart of the property stands baglio — a typical ancient Sicilian structure in a form of a rectangle with a small courtyard inside. Once the feud was self-sufficient. It housed about a hundred peasants who worked the soil and had sheep (hence the name Feudo Montoni). Nowadays it is mainly a farm where grapes are grown. The main entrance is adorned with medieval coat of arms, and the cellar has the stone with the date of original building — 1469. “I continue old traditions and create new”, says Fabio meaning that several years ago he started to produce own wines under Feudo Montoni label.

Growing about a dozen of different varieties, Fabio Sireci makes wine only from Nero d’Avola, the most charismatic, as he believes, Sicilian grape. All the rest is sold to large and well known producers — Planeta, Tasca d’Almerita, Donnafugata, Duca di Salaparuta. Once his Nero d’Avola from Vrucara site went into the cult Sicilian Tasca d’Almerita Rosso del Conte, until he decided to bottle it himself in 1999.

This noble vineyard is unique. Four hundred years ago papal agronomist Andrea Bacci marked its wines out for power, bouquet and aging ability. (The wine, by the way, is still served in Vatikan.) Now the main secret of Feudo Montoni’s Nero d’Avola is hidden in a particular clone that cannot be found anywhere else in Sicily. Being in an isolated place where only green hills with some wheat fields stretch for miles, Feudo Montoni — since its founding in 1469 — preserved its original Nero d’Avola without genetic mutations.

High altitude and contrast between day and night temperatures make their contribution towards Vrucara’s aristocratic character. The wines are elegant which is rather an exception that the rule for geneous Sicilian climate. “It is not difficult to produce wine in Sicily because there is a lot of sun and light. To make is refined is a great challenge”, notes Fabio. Full attention to vineyards, exceptionally low yields and soft vinification are natural things in Feudo Montoni. The vineyard with 50-year-old vines takes 5 hectares and gives only 20 thousand bottles.

Vrucara wines are like a soul of a female Sicily: soft, but with strong character, seductive, yet revealing its beauty only to those who are ready to follow them to the end. Fabio Sireci is in love with his land and it seems that this love is also one of the secrets of wine’s amazing appeal. “I try to create emotions”, notes Fabio. That is the essence of the land called Feudo Montoni.