Marsala Vergine Riserva Florio 2011

Marsala Vergine Riserva from the famous Sicilian winery Florio represents adry and deeply saline interpretation of Italy's best-known fortified wine. This category of Marsala Vergine is considered the most prized because during the production process it is forbidden to use cooked must and mistelle, i.e. the so-called "concia", a component that may in some way interfere with the purest expression of this historic fortified wine from the Trapani area. Obviously, being a liqueur-like wine, Marsala Vergine is also enriched with grape alcohol or wine spirits, in a process defined as 'falling in love'.

Marsala Florio Vergine Riserva is made exclusively from Grillo grapes grown along the coastal strip of the municipality of Marsala and inland in the province of Trapani. The vineyards, bred using the Marsala alberello and low espalier system, grow on red soils of medium texture rich in sand, in a warm, breezy climate that is typically Mediterranean. The grapes are hand-picked when over-ripe and then transferred to the cellar where they undergo vigorous pressing. Alcoholic fermentation takes place in cement containers and is followed by fortification through the addition of wine alcohol. At this point, the wine is aged for over 10 years in a single 25-hectolitre wooden barrel in Florio's own Garibaldi winery, located in Marsala, just 137 metres from the sea.

Intense golden yellow is the colour of Florio's Marsala Vergine Riserva, which on the nose expresses vibrant hints of ripe fruit, citrus peel, yellow flowers and fermented cereals, enriched by marine puffs and oxidative notes of dried fruit. The taste is dry and clean, very warm and enveloping, with an energetic finish marked by intense savouriness.