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Planeta's flagship Chardonnay from Sicily - barrel-fermented in French oak with tropical fruit, butter and toasted almond, balanced by crisp acidity.
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Fermented and aged in 225-litre Allier oak from the Ulmo and Maroccoli vineyards above Sambuca di Sicilia, a creamy yet mineral white of ripe yellow peach, acacia honey and toasted almond.
Ripe yellow peach, acacia honey and marzipan lift first, the trio Planeta names for this Menfi Chardonnay. Next come toasted almond, brioche and a peaty, cereal smokiness from fermentation in Allier oak. A flinty, stony edge reflects the limestone-rich Ulmo and Maroccoli soils.
Lemon
Acacia
Apricot
Pear
Pineapple
White peach
Brioche
Butter
Oak
VanillaBarrel fermentation at 18C and batonnage every ten days build a creamy, almost oily weight. That weight is set against the crunchy freshness of 5.85 grams per litre total acidity. Ripe pear, pineapple and white peach carry through, framed by vanilla and butter from the small oak barrels, 50% of them new. Vivino drinkers reach for rich, juicy and crisp. The contrast of creaminess and crunchiness the estate describes is exactly what lands.
It finishes long and powerful, the way Planeta describes it. It closes on toasted almond, acacia honey and a salty, stony lift from the limestone soils rather than heavy oak.
This is Planeta's icon white since the 1980s and a Sicilian benchmark. Wine Enthusiast, James Suckling and Wine Spectator scored it 92 to 93. Across thousands of Vivino reviews it is rated a steady 4.2. It is an oaked, food-friendly Chardonnay for a special dinner, best in its first five to six years. Drinkers who prefer lean, unoaked whites should look elsewhere.
Three UK listings track the 2023 and 2024 vintages between £36.50 and £39.59 a bottle, the going rate for Planeta's benchmark estate Chardonnay.
A versatile, critic-scored Sicilian white that rates high for food and occasion and mid for value at its £36-plus shelf price.
Barrique weight plus 5.85 g/L acidity span creamy pasta, fried Sicilian classics and meaty fish, a genuinely versatile food white.
A critic-scored Sicilian benchmark at £36 to £40 that carries a celebration or a special dinner with ease.
Familiar Chardonnay fruit makes it approachable, but the oak-driven, mineral style at a premium price sits a step above entry level.
Lowest UK price £36.50; with no live category benchmark available, fair for a 92-93 point estate Chardonnay, premium but not a bargain.
Built for its first five to six years; the fresh acidity holds it, but this estate Chardonnay is not a long-haul white like Planeta's Didacus.
Delicious but a treat at its £36-plus shelf price, not a midweek staple; the price band pushes the everyday score down.
Scoring is rule-based and deterministic. The model and weightings are documented in our Wine Fit Score methodology.
A compact view of what the Menfi denomination actually requires, and how this bottle sits inside it. Pulled from the official Italian disciplinare.
An organic Menfi DOC Chardonnay with 5.85 g/L total acidity, built to drink in its first five to six years rather than to cellar.
A young, just-released Menfi Chardonnay whose 5.85 g/L total acidity keeps the barrique-built richness fresh. Drink from 2025 through about 2030, with a sweet spot near 2027.
Drinking well now, this carries its toasted-almond and yellow-peach character on fresh acidity through about 2029. An oaked white built for early-to-mid-term drinking, not long cellaring.
A young, just-released Menfi Chardonnay whose 5.85 g/L total acidity keeps the barrique-built richness fresh. Drink from 2025 through about 2030, with a sweet spot near 2027.
Drink-now / hold guidance reflects general style cues for this wine, not a forecast for a specific bottle. Where vintage-level editorial notes exist, they appear above.
A wine Planeta began in 1985 on an estate certified organic under the SOStain protocol, scored 92 to 93 by Wine Enthusiast, James Suckling and Wine Spectator across recent vintages.
Italian wine law sorts bottles into a pyramid. DOCG sits at the top: tightly drawn boundaries, prescribed grapes, mandatory ageing, government tasting before release. DOC is the same idea with looser thresholds. IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) is broader still, requiring only that 85% of the grapes come from the named territory.
Menfi is in the DOC tier. That is not a quality verdict, it is a description of how much freedom the producer has at vinification and ageing.
Menfi falls within Sicily.
Winery
Menfi
Made at Planeta, Menfi. Directions
Planeta grows the fruit on its own organic, SOStain-certified hillside sites up to 415 metres above Sambuca di Sicilia, which cost far more to tend than valley-floor Sicilian Chardonnay.
Fifty percent new 225-litre Allier barriques plus batonnage every ten days add barrel and cellar cost a tank-fermented Sicilian white never carries.
Cover cropping, sulphur-and-copper-only sprays and certification labour lift growing costs above conventional Menfi Chardonnay.
James Suckling, Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator scores of 92 to 93, plus Planeta's icon status, support the £36 to £40 UK shelf price.
HMRC still-wine duty of £2.67 a bottle plus 20% VAT take roughly £9.30 of the £39.59 shelf price before the retailer's margin.
Sicilian vineyard land and Planeta's 371 hectares of production keep this well under comparable barrel-fermented white Burgundy, holding it near £37 rather than £60-plus.
Dishes that go with this wine
The barrique weight and bright acidity bridge creamy carbonara, fried arancini and grilled Sicilian swordfish, while clashing with tannic red meat.
Barrique texture and the crunchy 5.85 g/L acidity cut egg-and-pork fat and butter-mounted rice, so the wine refreshes rather than piles richness on richness.
Try with: Pasta alla carbonara · Porcini mushroom risotto · Truffle risotto · Pumpkin risotto · More pairings →
Weight from 11 months in Allier barriques stands up to meaty Sicilian swordfish and crisp breaded veal where a lean white would vanish.
Try with: Pesce spada alla Siciliana · Cotoletta alla Milanese · Vitello Tonnato · More pairings →
Toasted almond, marzipan and acacia-honey notes from the oak echo fried, breadcrumbed textures and keep them from feeling heavy.
Try with: Arancini · Sfincione, Sicilian Pizza · Frittata di maccheroni · More pairings →
Ripe yellow-peach fruit and fresh acidity balance salty, savoury hard cheeses, matching the wine's creaminess to their bite.
Try with: Caciocavallo farcito · Fonduta · Pecorino sardo e pan carasau · More pairings →
The mineral acidity refreshes mild, creamy spice while the oak weight carries the dish, where a delicate white would be flattened.
Try with: Palak paneer · More pairings →
A barrel-aged white has no tannin for a charred, rare T-bone, and its oak and 13% weight collide with fierce chilli heat, leaving both wine and plate worse off.
Skip with: Fiorentina steak · Brasato al Barolo · Pasta arrabbiata · Pizza Diavola · Pairing guide →
Batonnage every ten days and 11 months in Allier barriques give weight, but this estate Chardonnay is best inside five to six years, not a long-haul white.
Peak around 2027. Best in the years above; holds without falling over either side.
A short splash decant softens the first-pour edge and opens the aromatics.
Built for its first five to six years; the fresh acidity holds it, but this estate Chardonnay is not a long-haul white like Planeta's Didacus.
£33.00 is the lowest tracked offer for the current vintage and we have no signal of further discounting.
Read directly from each retailer’s public product page once a day. Last refresh: 13 Sep 2026, 01:40 BST. We do not hold stock and we do not accept payment for placement.
Confidence · HighDrawn from what drinkers consistently report on Vivino and Wine-Searcher, summarised in our own words. A crowd read across many tasters, not a single critic.
Confidence · MediumFrom the official Italian disciplinare for this denomination, cross-checked against the Ministry of Agriculture register.
Confidence · HighOur reading of the price, drawn from the disciplinare, public UK duty rates, and typical landed-cost benchmarks. Not a quote from the producer or a retailer.
Confidence · MediumStyle guidance for this kind of wine at this price point. Treat it as advice, not a forecast for the bottle in your hand.
Confidence · MediumYes. It is fermented and aged for 11 months in 225-litre Allier oak barriques, half of them new, with batonnage every ten days, which gives its creamy texture and toasted-almond, vanilla and brioche notes.
An oaked Sicilian white of ripe yellow peach, acacia honey and marzipan, with a creamy, almost oily weight balanced by crisp acidity and a mineral, toasted finish.
It is a Menfi DOC wine grown on Planeta's organic Ulmo and Maroccoli vineyards at Sambuca di Sicilia in south-western Sicily, planted up to 415 metres above sea level.
Its body and bright acidity suit creamy pasta alla carbonara, fried arancini, porcini risotto and grilled Sicilian swordfish. Avoid tannic red meat and fierce chilli heat.
It drinks best within five to six years of the vintage. The fresh 5.85 g/L total acidity keeps it lively, but this estate Chardonnay is made for early drinking, not long cellaring.
UK listings for the 2023 and 2024 vintages run from about £36.50 to £39.59 a bottle.
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