In ancient Greek the term Eúxenos means "hospitable to foreigners". This word was found engraved on some amphorae of wine recovered from a shipwrecked boat a few hundred meters from the coast of Lipari. In fact, in 1966 a shipwreck was discovered, dating back to 300 BC. approximately, not far from the east coast of the island. The boat, which ran aground off the Secca di Capistello, had dispersed its cargo on the sandy bottom and was inclined to a depth of 108 metres. The cargo consisted mainly of Greek-Italian amphorae used to contain and transport wine. At the time of recovery, many of the amphorae were still closed with corks sealed with resin and bearing stamps with Greek names such as "Eúxenos" and "Dìon".
The fascinating story of these amphorae found at the bottom of the sea was the inspiration for a new wine from the estate, which marks the ideal closure of a circle that began in 2005, with the research carried out on the Aeolian Islands for the best vines of the white berry traditionally grown on these volcanic soils, i.e. Malvasia delle Lipari, which according to ampelographic studies was brought to Lipari by the ancient Greeks themselves. With the massal selection and the re-propagation of this rare and precious varietal, the oenological project of Tenuta di Castellaro was launched, with the ambitious goal of demonstrating that through contemporary craftsmanship, it is possible to make great wines also on Lipari. The new wine, the only one from Castellaro produced with 100% Malvasia delle Lipari grapes, marks a further milestone in this direction, and completes that journey begun over fifteen years ago, by foreigners on the island.
It's called Eúxenos and it's a slightly macerated dry white, obtained from the selection of Malvasia delle Lipari grapes manually harvested from the sapling-grown vines on the plain of Castellaro, under certified organic and vegan regimes, this time not exposed to the sun for drying as in the most popular sweet version. Spontaneous fermentation, without the use of any additives, takes place in cocciopesto amphora - an ancient earthenware material used for the production of amphorae since Hellenic times, as well as in Ancient Rome - and is carried out by yeasts naturally present on the skins, with which the wine remains in contact for about 30 days. After which it remains in the amphora for another 8 months, before being left to rest in the bottle. The first vintage of Eúxenos is 2021. It is a wine that follows the vertical and elegant style of Tenuta di Castellaro, and which expresses sensations of candied and toasted fruit, within a trail of delicate minerality. A small treasure, and a new expression of wine-archaeology of the island of Lipari.