2025 Casa d'Ambra "Frassitelli" Ischia Biancolella

If Ischia has a grand cru, this is it, and the 2025 has arrived. Tenuta Frassitelli hangs off the flank of Monte Epomeo at 600 metres, four hectares of Biancolella on terraces of green volcanic tuff so steep that the grapes come down by monorail. Luigi Veronelli told the d’Ambra family to plant Biancolella here decades ago, and the wine went on to win Campania’s first Tre Bicchieri. Casa d’Ambra has farmed the island since 1888, and the winemaking stays out of the way: no skin contact, a cool fermentation in steel and a long rest on the fine lees. In the glass, it pours a pale straw with green glints. The nose is bright, saline and unmistakably Mediterranean: yellow broom and white blossom, white peach, Mediterranean scrub, a pinch of white pepper and briny sea mist. On the palate, it is dry and racy yet generous, the altitude giving it a vertical spine and the volcanic soil a smoky, sun-dried-straw grip, finishing long on makrut lime zest and salt. At $29.99 this is heroic viticulture in a bottle and still one of the best values in Italian white. Spaghetti alle vongole, grilled octopus, or the island’s rabbit if you can find it.