Com_St_2007_03_23_Vendemmia06NuoveAnnate_ENG-1.pdf
Aromatic whites, fruity and elegant reds, the result of a qualitatively positive year. At the Verona Fairgrounds, tastings of the Sicilian estate’s 2004 and 2005 as well.
Marsala, March 23rd, 2007. On Sicily, the 2006 vintage was characterized by a climatic pattern that required close attention to the management of the vineyards, especially in the weeks immediately preceding the harvest. Spring rains, abundant in comparison with the average for the season, were followed in the third week of August by a sudden rise in temperatures that accelerated the ripening of the grapes.
To reach an outstanding vegetation-production equilibrium, a scrupulous “reading” of conditions in the vineyard is fundamental so that the most correct decisions will be made in respect to the working of the soil, green pruning, thinning and management of reserves of water. In the delicate pre-harvest phase, the choice of the dates for the collection of the grapes is always evaluated with the greatest care through the frequent sampling of the berries in which particular importance is assigned to the sensory examination through tasting.
In the winery, we have had to valorize excellent raw materials. In that way wines with a Mediterranean soul and great equilibrium have been obtained. We are on the path of a production style that is oriented toward the maximum expression of the viticultural potential of the territory. And constant attention is focused on the evolution of taste. “The concept of quality in a wine,” explained Antonio Rallo of Donnafugata, “is now taken for granted, a presupposition that I would say is obvious. Consumers are more demanding today and they call on us to interpret the idea of quality to produce wines that have more pronounced personalities. A characteristic that is the fruit of an increasingly advanced combination of nature, territory and human culture.”
Sensorial analyses of 2006 Donnafugata wines confirm a great aromatic content in the whites supported by freshness and mineral notes and featuring a marked elegance. The softness of the tannins and the flavor-olfactory persistence are of the greatest interest in the reds. After maturation, they will express further flowery and spicy shadings.
On Pantelleria the Donnafugata vineyards situated in 11 different contrade (country districts) show even notable variations in the periods when the grapes ripen. Therefore, harvesting began on August 17 and continued for about one month. While it is relatively small island, Pantelleria displays viticultural contexts characterized by extremely diverse microclimates that are positively “complicit” in the pronounced complexity of the finished product.
In general, the substantial thermal variations between day and night contributed to the exaltation of the aromatic content of the Zibibbo, which is cultivated in volcanic soil. The vines are head-trained and grow protected by low dry stone walls. The process of drying the clusters is carried out, in keeping with tradition, in the sun and wind. When it has reached the proper degree of dryness (about 25 kilos of raisins from 100 kilos of fresh grapes), the raisins are added to the fermenting must (obtained from non-dried grapes) for the production of Passito Ben Ryé. In 2006, vinification was carried out in the estate’s new winery in the Khamma district.
Summary profiles of the Donnafugata wines offered for tasting at Vinitaly 2007
WINES OF THE 2006 VINTAGE
Anthìlia 2006 – white, IGT Sicilia
Alcohol: 13.28% vol.; Total acidity: 5.56 g/l.; pH: 3.25.
The perfect maturation of Ansonica and Catarratto have given life to a 2006 Anthilia that is characterized by a distinct enveloping mouth and an optimum equilibrium. It has a broad aromatic bouquet of white fruits and elegant notes of the Mediterranean vegetation. Very pleasant thanks to its distinctive tastiness and freshness.
Polena 2006 – white, Catarratto Viognier IGT Sicilia
Alcohol: 14.09% vol.; Total acidity: 5.97 g/l. ; pH: 3.30.
The blend with which this first vintage of Polena was created proved to be highly successful. The Catarratto provides a very good acidity, while the Viognier guarantees warmth, fullness and flavor-aroma complexity that ranges from fruity to floral notes. On the nose, ample shadings enfold the taster with elegance and style and offer scents of minerals and the fruitiness of citrus and exotic types embellished by floral notes of acacia and broom. On the palate, sapidity and freshness are great protagonists, perfectly incorporated in an enshrouding spherical structure.
Lighea 2006 – white, IGT Sicilia
Alcohol: 13.11% vol.; Total acidity: 5.72 g/l.; pH: 3.38.
Lighea 2006 confirms the distinctive characteristics of the preceding vintage, underlining its excellent freshness and aroma. Since the weather was slightly warmer than in 2005, diligent management of the vineyards, whether on Pantelleria, where Zibibbo is produced, or at Contessa Entellina, where Ansonica and Catarratto are cultivated, permitted harvesting of perfectly integral grapes adapted to the characteristics of this wine. Lighea’s typical freshness and aroma are also supported by a pleasant sapidity in this 2006 vintage.
La Fuga 2006 – white, Chardonnay Contessa Entellina DOC
Alcohol: 13.73% vol.; Total acidity: 5.76 g/l.; pH: 3.38.
Sapidity and freshness are the characteristics that distinguish La Fuga 2006. Increasingly effective management of the vineyard, assurance of the equilibrium between vegetation and production and scrupulous operation of the winery have permitted production of this superbly balanced wine. By maintaining its typical personality and unmistakable aromatic patrimony, La Fuga 2006 has yielded particularly fine results.
Vigna di Gabri 2006 – white, Contessa Entellina DOC
Alcohol: 13.69% vol.; Total acidity: 5.74 g/l.; pH: 3.39.
Remarkable response by Ansonica in this version of the Vigna di Gabri cru. On the nose, the wine wins immediate appreciation for its aromatic purity and the harmonious intersection of floral and fruity notes. Like the best 2006 whites of this area, Vigna di Gabri has an imposing acidic structure and extremely pleasant sapidity. A Vigna di Gabri that confirms its proverbial elegance.
Sherazade 2006 – red, Nero d’Avola Syrah IGT Sicilia
Alcohol: 13.98% vol.; Total acidity: 5.53 g/l.; pH: 3.47.
The color is a concentrated ruby red with violet streaks. The olfactory profile opens on a medley of sensations that vary from fruity tones, prevalently from Nero d’Avola, to the balsamic and mineral notes of Syrah. Scents of wild berries, currants, cherries and blackberries stand out and they are followed by sweet notes of cacao. A full-bodied wine that inundates the palate with a caressing and seductive structure and relegates the tannins to the role of completing the equilibrium.
Kabir 2006 – naturally sweet white, Moscato di Pantelleria DOC
Alcohol: 11.69% vol.; Total acidity: 7.37 g/l.; Residual sugar: 109 g/l.
The 2006 vintage turned in an excellent performance on Pantelleria. Tasting that year’s Kabir recalls the intense pleasure derived from eating a Zibibbo grape, if you were fortunate enough to be on the island in early September. In Kabir 2006, fruit—rich and meaty—is powerfully predominant. Freshness along with mineral notes (traceable to the volcanic nature of the soil on Pantelleria) round out this wine, which is so versatile and pleasant.
WINES OF THE 2005 VINTAGE
Chiarandà 2005 – white, Contessa Entellina DOC
Alcohol: 14.16 % vol.; Total acidity: 5.63 g/l.; pH: 3.41.
Also for the 2005, Chiarandà offers its own traditional blend of Ansonica and Chardonnay, 50/50. The Chardonnay was harvested from the twentieth of August until the eighth of September, the Ansonica from the eighth to the sixtieth of September. The maturation period of the grapes was monitored with a high number of sampling and tasting to determine the best moment to pick the grape in each small part of every vineyards. After the fermentation, the wine is matured “sur lies”, half in small cement vats and half in 22 different types of French oak barrels in order to respect characteristics of the varieties of grapes. The barriques used, differ by producer, provenance of the wood, method and intensity of the toasting of the wood. For the area of Contessa Entellina, the vintage is one of the best of its history and Chiarandà 2005 will be a testament to this exceptional year: a wine with a good acidity, with a strong personality and extremely refined. The marriage between the fleshiness of the Chardonnay and the elegance of the Ansonica, gives life to a rare complexity. This wine has a long life on the horizon.
Sedàra 2005 – red, Nero d’Avola IGT Sicilia
Alcohol: 14.05% vol.; Total acidity: 5.63 g/l.; pH: 3.51.
With the 2005 vintage, Sedàra steps ahead in expressing the fruitiness of the Nero D’Avola grape from which it is made. Having aged 100% in cement tanks, Sedàra is striking for its pleasant vinosity. Due to the climatic conditions of the vintage, Sedàra has sweet tannins and a good aging potential.
Ben Ryé 2005 – naturally sweet white, Passito di Pantelleria DOC
Alcohol: 14.11 % vol.; Total acidity: 7.61 g/l.; Residual sugars: 192 g/l.
2005 was cool and rainy. In Pantelleria, the harvesting of Zibibbo began on the sixtieth of August in the precocious areas like “Martingana” and “Dietro L’isola”. Very intense perfumes and fleshy, Ben Ryè 2005 offers a triumph of citrus fruits, apricot and honey scents. An ideal equilibrium between sugars, alcohol and acidity makes the wine a pleasurable drink and its strong personality renders it unique: Ben Ryè 2005 has depth and a memorable fullness. A long life is expected.
WINES OF THE 2004 VINTAGE
Angheli 2004 – red, Nero d’Avola Merlot IGT Sicilia
Alcohol: 14.11% vol.; Total acidity: 5.92 g/l; pH: 3.75.
The cool vintage honors the delicateness of the 2004 Angheli, a blend of 50% Merlot and 50% Nero D’Avola. The wine is aged for 12 months in second passage, French oak barriques to best respect the characteristics of elegance in our 2004 Merlot; the wine is then aged for 12 months in the bottle. On the nose it is very fruity and in the mouth it has a distinguishable persistence. Immediately pleasant and a very good potential for aging.
Tancredi 2004 – red, Contessa Entellina DOC
Alcohol: 13.98% vol.; Total acidity: 6.13 g/l.; pH: 3.56.
At Donnafugata the 2004 vintage indisputably assured premium red wines with extraordinary elegance. The weather was unusually cool in this vintage and favored slow and harmonious ripening, conferring on the grapes a particularly fine tannin-aroma equilibrium. Both Nero d’Avola and Cabernet Sauvignon are present through their fruit and smooth tannins that are perfectly melded thanks to meticulous handling of maturation in oak.
Mille e una Notte 2004 – red, Contessa Entellina DOC
Alcohol: 14.10% vol.; Total acidity: 6.02 g/l.; pH: 3.72.
This 2004 vintage is a truly extraordinary expression of Mille e una Notte: it is the result of excellent agronomic and enological management that enabled the Nero d’Avola cultivated at Contessa Entellina to express its best qualities. It is an ample, profound and voluminous wine endowed with a silky structure. Complex and elegant. Thanks to potential longevity it can be much more, a major testimonial to its terroir and an excellent vintage.
Donnafugata Grappas offered for tasting at Vinitaly 2007
Grappa di Nero d’Avola
Alcohol: 40% vol.
Intense, warm and harmonious from its distinctive personality to its very long aromatic persistence. Subtle spicy and liquorice notes. Impressive for its clean, sensual and austere elegance.
Grappa di Zibibbo
Alcohol: 40% vol.
Great aromatic intensity and persuasive softness. With an extensive bouquet typical of the Mediterranean characterized by sweet nuances of zagara flower, dates and raisins. A grappa that expresses the sunnyness of the Zibibbo grape from Pantelleria.
Roerto Castagner distills Donnafugata Grappas
Baldo M. Palermo [email protected] phone +39 0923 724226
Laura Ellwanger: [email protected] phone. +39 0923 724258
Nando Calaciura [email protected] mob. +39 338 3229837
