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Luminous golden-orange. Perfumed and precise honeyed aromas and flavors of cane sugar, peach, mango, papaya, passion fruit and dates. Suave, very sweet and rich, with a dense yet light on its feet quality, this boasts a long finish that features notes of peach and honey. An outstanding Ben Ryé that strikes me as less fragrant but more suave than some recent vintages. Ben Ryé is one of Italy’s five or ten best sweet wines every year and it’s safe to say this year’s version will not harm its reputation any.

Ian D’agata

Luminous deep red. Knockout nose offers tangy red fruits, minerals and porcini complicated by Oriental spices and broom. Conveys an impression of superb concentration but also of nonpareil refinement, boasting the uncanny combination of tactile presence and deep luscious pristine red fruit, aromatic herb and stony flavors. A wine of great length and potential with a penetrating steely quality and with lots of fruit lurking in the background. This is the first vintage of Donnafugata’s new top of the line Etna Rosso and it’s a beauty. It undoubtedly helps that the grapes come from the Montelaguardia contrada, one of the lesser known but terroir-wise, one of the of the very best Etna contradas of all.

Ian D’agata

Luminous dark ruby. Flinty small dark berries, licorice and minerals on the nose and in the mouth. Clean and fresh, with a steely spine; finishes long, clean and vibrant, with a mineral bent. I like this.

Orange peel, pure red plums, sour cherries, tangerines and a ton of lemons. Medium-to full-bodied with great density on the center palate, but really refreshing acidity to carry this through to a long finish. Very impressive and a new wine from this producer. Drink now or hold.

Best Sweet Wine category

Authentic, very bright pale shade of Etna reds with young pink edges. Sweet red fruit and glacé cherries on the nose, plus a distinctive anginess. An incisive, concentrated, tightly packed, muscular palate and a long nish with sour berries, Parma Violets and pepper.

Leuchtendes, mitteldichtes Rubingranat. Eröffnet mit ansprechenden harzigen Noten, nach Zedernholz, dann nach Himbeeren und frischen Pflaumen, etwas Thymian. Saftig und rund im Ansatz, öffnet sich dann mit viel präsenter Beerenfrucht, feinmaschiges Tannin, salzig und lang.

A fresh and fruity red with raspberries, herbs and red licorice. Medium body, medium-chewy tannins and a bright finish. Drink now.

Chardonnay Contessa Entellina Chiarandà 2016

Score: 91/100 – Issue Sep 30, 2018; Tasting Note: This harmonious, medium-bodied white is fresh and focused, with well-knit flavors of tangy Honeycrisp apple, Meyer lemon peel and pastry. Offers a lingering finish of spice and graphite. Drink now through 2026.

Donnafugata Bell’Assai, Frappato di Vittoria 2016 GOLD
‘A vibrant, pleasant summer wine,’ said an impressed Janusz Pawel Sasiadek of Bottles & Battles as this took a well-deserved Gold medal, finding ‘lovely fresh fruits and good acidity’. Michael Moore of The London Cookhouse identified ‘lavender perfume and a splash of cinnamon towards the finish’, and Tate Catering’s Hamish Anderson thought it was ‘hugely drinkable’, praising its ‘pretty, fragrant nose with cherries and wild flowers, and an elegant, pure palate with more cherries, wild herbs, and the grip of some fresh tannin’.

91 points
Intense aromas of white pepper and crushed strawberry follow over to the fresh savory palate along with juicy raspberry and clove. It’s elegant and fresh, with soft supple tannins. It’s already accessible so enjoy over the next few years

A tangy and fresh red with blueberry and orange peel aromas and flavors. Medium body, light tannins and a crisp finish. Drink now.