Among the fortified sweet wines, there are wine styles that are offered in many different types. In addition to the sweet Malaga wine, this also includes Marsala from western Sicily. There are more than thirty different types of Marsala: 4 different qualities, three colors and four categories of residual sugar.
Two of the categories are always sweet: the Abbocato with a residual sugar of at least 40 – 100 g/l and the Dolce with over 100 g/l. It should also be noted that the type called Secco can have residual sugar values of 4 – 40 g/l and can therefore be classified as sweet in the vast majority of cases. Only a Marsala with the name extension Vergine or Soleras always has less than 4 g/l of residual sugar.
We tasted a Marsala Superiore Oro Riserva Vigna La Miccia 2018 from the Marco de Bartoli winery. This type must mature for at least 4 years and therefore belongs to the best category of sweet qualities. The wine tasted is made from 100% Grillo. The Grillo thrives on sandy loam with limestone in the vineyards of the Contrada Samperi near Marsala, which belong to the Marco de Bartoli winery. The grapes, selected by hand and harvested in small boxes, are fermented spontaneously in temperature-controlled steel tanks after gentle pressing. The subsequent maturation took place for 4 years in new French oak barrels that were constantly kept full to minimize oxidative influences.
Marsala Superiore Oro Riserva Vigna La Miccia 2018, Marco de Bartoli (Tasted wines)
Light amber with golden reflections. Delicate barrel and dark spicy notes, coffee, dark toffee and dried fruit on the nose. Fresh on the palate with citrus notes, some cedar wood; salty with subtle sweetness, which, together with the spicy components, lingers for a long time in the finish. Excellent wine.