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Etna Rosso DOC Contrada 'Marchesa' 2017 (750 ml.) - Donnafugata
Etna Rosso Contrada 'Marchesa' by Donnafugata with a light ruby red color, has a fragrant bouquet with hints of small red fruits, spicy notes (cinnamon and black pepper) and undergrowth, followed by balsamic nuances and a delicate mineral note. In the mouth it stands out for its great balance characterized by good freshness and structure. The fine tannic texture extends its persistence and enhances the elegance of this cru.
- Product Category
- Red Wine
- Designation
- Etna Rosso DOC
- Grape / Raw material
- nerello mascalese
- Vintage - Cuvée
- 2017
- Size
- 750 ml.
- Country
- Italy
- Region
- IT - Sicily
- Alcohol Content
- 14% vol.
- Service Temperature
- 18° C.
- Suggested Glass
- Large calyx with a long stem
- Special Features
- Artistic label
- Food Matches
- Rice & Risotto, Roasted Beef, Red Meat, Stewed Meat, Game, Soups and Vegetables
- Allergens
- Contains Sulphites
DNF-ETNA-ROSSO-CONTRADA-MARCHESA-2017
10 Items
Donnafugata was founded in Sicily by an enterprising family with 160 years’ experience in premium wines. Giacomo Rallo and wife Gabriella, daughter José and son Antonio are engaged in an entrepreneurial project with a focus on attention to detail and synchronizing people and nature to make wines that correspond increasingly more to the potential of this area.
The Donnafugata adventure began in the Rallo family’s historic cellars in Marsala in 1983 and at its Contessa Entellina vineyards in the heart of western Sicily. In 1989, Donnafugata arrived on the island of Pantelleria, commencing its production of naturally sweet wines.
Address:
Via Sebastiano Lipari, 18 - 91025 Marsala (TP), Italy
Color: light ruby red
Bouquet: hints of small red fruits, spicy and undergrowth notes, balsamic nuances and a delicate mineral note.
Taste: great balance and elegance, good freshness and structure.
- Jancis Robinson 16.5/20
- Decanter 93/100
- Falstaff 92/100
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THE WINE
Etna Rosso Contrada 'Marchesa' by Donnafugata with a light ruby red color, has a fragrant bouquet with hints of small red fruits, spicy notes (cinnamon and black pepper) and undergrowth, followed by balsamic nuances and a delicate mineral note. In the mouth it stands out for its great balance characterized by good freshness and structure. The fine tannic texture extends its persistence and enhances the elegance of this cru.
Curiosity
The protagonist of this label, designed by the illustrator Stefano Vitale, is full of charm and mystery. A volcano-goddess with an aristocratic face, adorned with precious jewels: flowers and fruits generated by the volcano-mother that reflect the prestige of this so suited area. The label also depicts the medieval village of Castiglione di Sicilia and its vineyards interspersed with volcanic ashes.
THE COMPANY
The name Donnafugata, literally ‘woman in flight’ refers to the history of Queen Maria Carolina, wife of Ferdinand IV of Bourbon, who fled Naples in the early 1800s on the arrival of Napoleon’s troops, seeking refuge in the part of Sicily where the winery's vineyards now stand. This event inspired the Donnafugata logo, the effigy of a woman’s head with windblown hair found on every bottle. It was Sicilian author Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa in his novel Il Gattopardo (The Leopard) who gave the name Donnafugata to the country estates of the Prince of Salina. The estate was where the queen stayed, and it now holds the winery’s vineyards.
THE WINERIES
Donnafugata believes that great wine reflects the land of its origin. Nature of the soil, exposure, altitude, climat and vines are the principle variables for producing wines which express their belonging to unique terroirs. After choosing the right grapes for a terroir, targeted viticulture carefully and sensitively “reads” the vineyard in its interaction with the environment to bring the grapes at their qualitative peak. Frequent on-site grape tastings make it possible to pinpoint the ideal time for harvesting each individual vineyard. Vinification processes use simple technology respecting the integrity of the grapes, musts and wines. Through continual tastings the technical staff checks on sensorial goals linked to the fruit and the terroir. Intervening on the processes underway in vineyard and cellar, year after year precision enology redefines the boundaries of quality. The staff is composed of close-working experts (agronomist, enologist, quality-control manager, cellar personnel and vineyard overseers) who accompany the production process to ensure that nature takes its course in the best.
Contessa Entellina
The Contessa Entellina winery is located in the charming countryside of western Sicily, where vineyards are an integral part of the landscape. Donnafugata cultivates in 10 different terroirs a plurality of native and international varieties. A winegrowing choice to valorize the particular features (soil, altitude, exposure) of the different areas and produce wines of personality, fruit character, elegance, and finesse.
Pantelleria
On Pantelleria the Donnfugata winery and vineyards blend harmoniously into the landscape and the unique agricoltural setting of the island of volcanic origin, lying between Sicily and Africa, it is a rare example of heroic viticulture. The landscape reflects the hard labor required to create terraced plots and dry-stone walls in order to cultivate vineyard shaped by the wind. Donnafugata’s vineyards, where Zibibbo grapes are cultivated, are located in 12 districts (contrade) of the island differnt in soil, altitude, exposure and age of the plants (some vines are more than 100 years old). Khamma winery, example of sustainable architecture, has a technologically advanced equippement. The Zibibbo harvested in the different districts are processed separately to respect and enhance the plurality of viticoltural contexts.
Marsala
The old family cellars are the strategic base of the company, site of refinement and bottling for Donnafugata wines. The Marsala cellars, built in 1851, are a living example of industrial archaeology. The layout of the ‘baglio’, a typically Mediterranean warehouse, has been retained and features a spacious courtyard adorned with citrus and olive trees, as well as trussed wooden ceilings, the work of master carpenters of bygone times. Today, it houses a dynamic, productive enterprise which strives for excellence. This is where the products of Contessa Entellina and Pantelleria converge for refinement (in steel, cement and oak) and bottling. These processes are conducted with simple technologies that respect the intrinsic qualities of the musts and wines. Since temperature control is so important to every production stage, the cellars have air-conditioned, insulated rooms for maximum energy savings. Also in line with the winery’s environmental policies, the underground barrique room is carved from tuff (porous volcanic rock).
Vittoria
In south-eastern Sicily, Donnafugata chooses a territory with a high vocation to produce soft red wines with a floral soul, unusual wines capable of innovating the way of drinking red wine. It is the Vittoria area, between the Ibleo plateau and the sea, land of a historic and prestigious appellation that includes the first and only DOCG in Sicily: the Cerasuolo di Vittoria.
Donnafugata cultivates its vineyards in the Acate area. Overall, the company can count on 36 hectares, divided into 3 districts: Biddine Soprana, Biddine Sottana and Isola Cavaliere. The grapes grown are Nero d'Avola and Frappato. Nero d'Avola, king of Sicilian red berried vines, is the most widespread in Sicily, thanks to its strong ability to interact with the environment. In the Vittoria area, it expresses itself with a medium structure and particularly fine tannins. Frappato is one of the oldest Sicilian varieties, which loves the typical climate of the Vittoria Doc territories. A wine that stands out for its fragrance and floral notes. Extremely pleasant on the palate and delicately tannic.
Etna
In eastern Sicily, where Etna is located: the highest active volcano in Europe (over 3,300 m), Donnafugata has chosen the north side to produce mountain, volcanic and Mediterranean wines.
In this estate, between 730 m and 750 m asl, Donnafugata can count on about 21 hectares of vineyards, all in the Doc area, divided into 6 districts: Montelaguardia, Statella, Camporè and Calderara in the municipality of Randazzo, Marchesa and Verzella in the municipality of Castiglione of Sicily. The cultivated varieties are the autochthonous representative of the territory: Carricante, Nerello Mascalese and in small quantities Nerello Cappuccio.
The viticultural landscape on Etna is characterized by terraces and dry stone walls in lava stone (UNESCO World Heritage Site). The training system is the low espalier or the traditional sapling, also quincunx (dense checkerboard layout with about 7,000 plants per hectare).