Vineyard: Santa Anastasia

Abbazia Santa Anastasia is pure Sicilian Eden. Steeped in a natural landscape of breathtaking beauty between the Mediterranean and the Madonie mountain range, it forms a world of its own, a tightly knit community much as the original abbey (“abbazia” – hence the full winery name) would have been in the 1100s, when it was founded. At that time, the huge property (1,110 acres of farmland, olive trees, vineyards and fruit groves) was the focus of culture and activity in the entire area. The abbey as such was closed in 1316, and the monks’ beneficial influence on the surrounding population and economy gradually faded.
The spectacular location froze, as it were, into the slumber of inactivity: a Sleeping Beauty awaiting its prince for over six and a half centuries. Finally – it was 1980 – the prince turned up. He turned out to be a brilliant engineer/entrepreneur from nearby Palermo, Francesco Lena. Lena transformed the former abbey into a model wine estate and exquisite relais. The medieval buildings and courtyard were maintained and painstakingly restored. No expense was spared, and the new owner put together an extraordinary team of agronomists and wine technicians, orchestrated by Lena himself with winemaker Riccardo Cotarella. In 2003, the villa, cellars and winery were renovated, implementing totally low-stress, gravitational flow management.
The vineyards were gradually expanded to cover 198 acres, on high-rising, subalkaline, calcareous terrain at 820 to 1,640 feet above sea level – i.e., 200 to 500 meters – and with a density of 3,500 vines per hectare (a little under 1,500 per acre). The soil’s exceptionally high potassium content is instrumental in the wines’ outstanding balance and finesse of components, and viniculture is organic. Grapes comprise the ancient, native variety of Nero d’Avola, the noblest of the island’s own reds. Lena is a firm believer in this authentic Mediterranean heritage as in that of the white Inzolia and Grillo, and in the interplay of Sicilian soil and international grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Merlot.
Over the past couple of years, Francesco and his team have decided to realign the range, unifying the indigenous Sicilian varietals into a line called CONTEMPO, which is kept distinct from the international varietals or native/international blends. In Italian, the name “contempo” means “at the same time”. Lena has chosen it to signify the estate’s continuity from past to future. In Francesco’s words, “We wanted to express our sense of ancient native traditions that made us what we are now and ‘at the same time’ what we mean to be in the future; a sense of the past shining through the present, meeting the needs and tastes of today’s world.”