Vigna La Miccia 2018

This cuvée comes from Contrada Samperi, in the hinterland of Marsala, on the west coast of Sicily. The vines, planted on flat limestone and sandy-silt soils, are Guyot-trained. It belongs to the Marsala DOC, in the Marsala Superiore Oro semi-secco Riserva category.

The bunches are harvested by hand into small crates, then sorted and gently pressed. After natural settling, fermentation is carried out with native yeasts at controlled temperature in stainless-steel tanks to preserve the brightness of the fruit. The wine is then aged for four years in new French oak barrels, kept constantly topped up to limit oxidation.

This wine reveals notes of ripe peach, candied apricot, candied orange, lime zest, toasted almond, hazelnut, honey, caramel, clove, cedar, coffee and cocoa. The palate is broad and silky, carried by a delicate sweetness extended by saline freshness. Its precise, warm texture keeps its momentum, with a very persistent, slightly bitter and finely oaked finish.

Ah, Italy, what a beautiful hedonistic country, home of the Dolce Vita, but how hard it is to understand how its wine is organised! The key to understanding Italy's appellation system is to think of it as several small countries rather than a single uniform one, since each region has its own appellation system. Yet Italy can offer wine lovers a multitude of wines with varied and unique flavours and styles, as well as bottles full of surprise and creativity. Unfortunately it also produces a large quantity of soulless, characterless wines sold under their most useful and commercially renowned names: Pinot Grigio, Chianti, Valpolicella, Lambrusco, Prosecco and many others... But let us talk a little history: winegrowing in Italy goes back to the most distant antiquity and originated in Greece. The Etruscans are said to have introduced the vine, and Greek immigrants improved and changed the grape varieties, later calling the country "Oenotria": the land of wine. At the height of the Roman Empire, wine held an important place in daily life, and some regions already stood out for the excellence of their produce. The Romans also planted many vineyards across Europe, leaving an indelible mark of their conquests. Today Italy is the largest wine producer in the world, ahead of France. Italy is divided into three climatic zones. The northern mountains have a fairly harsh mountain climate. The plain in the "middle of the boot" has a continental climate with cold winters and hot, stormy summers. The "south of the boot" enjoys a Mediterranean climate with very hot, very dry summers, not forgetting the islands of Sicily and Sardinia. In short, Italy produces a great variety of wines thanks to its 200 different grape varieties, many of them native to its land. It is a country just as complex as its wines, and well worth exploring!