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Planeta's flagship Sicilian Chardonnay: barrel-fermented and aged 10 months in French oak off a single old Ulmo vineyard in Menfi DOC. Rich, creamy and oak-driven, with honey, apricot and a stony edge. Built for roast birds and truffle risotto.
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Ten months in small oak barrels, with the spent yeast stirred weekly, build the butter, toast and wildflower-honey character drinkers flag most on Didacus. Under it sit apricot and nectarine from the Ulmo vineyard at Sambuca di Sicilia.
Oak leads, in a buttery, vanilla register, set over wildflower honey and a stony lift. Behind it sit ripe apricot and nectarine from the Ulmo fruit. The ferment in small oak barrels reads as toasted bread and almond rather than raw oak.
Toasted bread
Apricot
White peach
Wet stones
Almond
Butter
Vanilla
HoneyFull-bodied and creamy. The texture is built by ten months in small French oak barrels and weekly stirring of the spent yeast back through the wine. Golden-apple and peach fruit carries a salty, limestone core from the old Sambuca di Sicilia parcel. Even so, about 5.2 grams per litre of acidity and a near-complete second, softer fermentation keep the wine from feeling heavy. An oak-framed Sicilian Chardonnay with grip, not a lean one.
The close is long and savoury, toasted almond and marzipan over wet-stone flavour. Oak and 13% to 13.5% alcohol give weight without heat.
Planeta's single-vineyard flagship white, scored Vinous 96 for the 2019 and liked by drinkers year after year. A gift-tier Sicilian Chardonnay for lovers of rich, barrel-aged whites, best two to eight years from the vintage.
Didacus reaches the UK in small parcels: recent 2021, 2022 and 2023 vintages list around £73 to £88 through a handful of specialist Sicilian-wine merchants.
75cl · Vintage not stated: £76.65, 1 UK retailer
A flagship single-vineyard Chardonnay at £73-plus, Didacus rates high for occasion and food and lower for everyday value, reflecting its barrel-aged, gift-tier place in the range.
Single-vineyard, critic-scored to Vinous 96 and gift-tier priced: built for a special table.
Barrel weight plus 5.2 grams per litre of acidity makes a versatile partner for roast birds, creamy risotto and rich shellfish.
Ten months in small oak barrels, and a 2014 and 2016 that still drink well, show five to eight years of cellar life, strong for a white.
An oak-driven, pricey single-vineyard Chardonnay is a connoisseur's white, not an easy first Sicilian bottle.
At a £73-plus floor it sits well above the Italian white median; the single vineyard and oak programme justify it, but on price alone value is modest.
A £73-plus barrel-aged flagship is an occasion white, not a midweek pour.
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.
Alcohol tracks the Sicilian season here, from 12.5% in the cooler-picked 2022 to 13.5% in the riper 2023; James Suckling scored the 2021 92 points.
A riper 13.5% vintage built on careful sorting, with 11% of fruit rejected on the table. Best from 2025 to 2030.
Picked at a fresh 12.5% after a hot, dry summer, with the Ulmo vineyard's 250 m altitude holding acidity. Best to around 2029.
A warm, dry Sicilian season; James Suckling scored the 2021 Didacus 92 and Wine Enthusiast 94. Drinking well now to 2028.
A riper 13.5% vintage built on careful sorting, with 11% of fruit rejected on the table. Best from 2025 to 2030.
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.
Named for Diego Planeta, the wine comes from one old Ulmo parcel planted in 1985 on clay and limestone at 250 metres, farmed organically under the SOStain protocol.
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
Didacus is one small Chardonnay block at Sambuca di Sicilia, organically farmed under SOStain; low yields off 40-year-old vines lift cost far above Planeta's entry Sicilia Chardonnay.
Fermenting and ageing 10 months in small French oak barrels, with the spent yeast stirred by hand weekly for six months, costs real money. It ties up barrels and cellar labour a tank-made Sicilian white never carries.
Critic scores up to Vinous 96, with a 94 from another major reviewer, and a 2019 that drinkers rank among the very best. That record lets Planeta price Didacus as a fine Chardonnay rather than a regional bottle.
UK excise adds £2.67 at the 2026 still-wine rate, and 20% VAT on about £73 is near £12. Together that is close to £15 of the shelf price before merchant margin.
Britain sees Didacus in small parcels through a few Sicilian-focused merchants, so there is little discounting; UK listings cluster around £73 to £88.
Because Didacus is Chardonnay rather than a rare indigenous variety, fruit and winemaking are well understood, holding it below Sicily's priciest Etna cuvees.
Dishes that go with this wine
Didacus carries the oak-barrel weight and 5.2 grams per litre of acidity to meet rich poultry, creamy mushroom risotto and sweet shellfish, the dishes its oak-and-stone-fruit profile flatters.
Ten months in small oak barrels give Didacus a creamy, buttery weight that matches the richness of roast poultry and pork. The Ulmo vineyard's altitude keeps acidity live, so the wine cuts the fat rather than sitting heavy beside it.
Try with: Roast chicken · Roast pork · Pork belly · More pairings →
The wine's honey, toast and wet-stone character echo the earthy umami of porcini and truffle. Its full body and creamy texture stand up to a rich risotto without being flattened by it.
Try with: Porcini mushroom risotto · Truffle risotto · Pumpkin risotto · Risotto alla Milanese · More pairings →
Stone-fruit weight flatters sweet crab and lobster meat, while 5.2 grams per litre of acidity refreshes the palate between rich, buttery bites. Shellfish is the plate Didacus is opened for most often, and the logic holds.
Try with: Crab · Lobster · Scallops · More pairings →
Didacus is a Sicilian wine, and its toasted-oak and saffron-gold character bridges to the fried, golden crust of arancini. The acidity keeps the fried richness from cloying.
Try with: Arancini · Panelle · Fried seafood · More pairings →
Char-grilled tuna or salmon has the flesh and oil to meet an oaked Chardonnay. The wine's ripe apricot and salty core balance the salt and smoke where a lean white would vanish.
Try with: Tuna · Salmon · Swordfish · More pairings →
Oak and 13% to 13.5% alcohol amplify chilli heat and turn it bitter, so vindaloo and Szechuan heat fight the wine. At the other end, the buttery weight steamrolls delicate raw oysters and sashimi.
Skip with: Vindaloo · Szechuan chicken · Oysters · Sashimi · Pairing guide →
The 2014 and 2016 still drink well today, evidence this barrel-built Chardonnay holds five to eight years; drink the current 2023 from 2025.
Peak around 2027. Best in the years above; holds without falling over either side.
Pour it straight from the bottle.
Aim for the cooler end on a warm day; warmer end opens up more aromatics.
Ten months in small oak barrels, and a 2014 and 2016 that still drink well, show five to eight years of cellar life, strong for a white.
£66.00 for a 75cl bottle of the 2023, at XtraWine, is the best price we track, and we have no signal of further discounting.
Read directly from each retailer’s public product page once a day. Last refresh: 25 Oct 2026, 03:51 BST. We do not hold stock and we do not accept payment for placement.
Confidence · HighDrawn from what drinkers consistently report on Vivino, summarised in our own words. A crowd read across many tasters, not a single critic. Drinkers score it 4.4 out of 5 from 1,619 ratings on Vivino.
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 · MediumDidacus is 100% Chardonnay from Planeta's Ulmo vineyard at Sambuca di Sicilia in Sicily's Menfi DOC. It is the barrel-fermented, single-vineyard step above Planeta's regular Sicilia Chardonnay.
The grapes ferment and then age about 10 months in small French oak barrels. The spent yeast is stirred through the wine weekly, and roughly 40% goes through a second, softer fermentation. That is what gives the wine its butter, toast and creamy texture.
Expect oak, butter and vanilla over wildflower honey, apricot and nectarine, with a stony edge and a toasted-almond finish. It is a full-bodied, creamy Sicilian Chardonnay rather than a lean one.
Its weight and acidity suit roast chicken, creamy porcini or truffle risotto, sweet crab and Sicilian arancini. Avoid fiery chilli heat, which the oak and 13% alcohol exaggerate.
It drinks well for around five to eight years from the vintage; the 2014 and 2016 still show well today. The current 2023 will show best from 2025.
Recent vintages list at roughly £73 to £88 a bottle through specialist merchants, placing it among Sicily's premium single-vineyard whites.
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