Producer Profile: Marco de Bartoli
Marco de Bartoli worked for the large Marsala firm Cantine Pellegrino before taking over his mother’s estate in 1980. He is credited with single-handedly restoring the image of Marsala both within Italy and more recently internationally through his dedication to producing a ‘real’ Marsala of highest quality and concentration. He passed away in 2011 and his sons now run the business, which has expanded to include vineyards on the island of Pantelleria.
These two unique regions, most especially Marsala, suffered significantly from a drop in quality in the late 20th century. Marsala came to be perceived as a cooking wine, but the example set by Marco de Bartoli shows its potential as a much more sophisticated and worthy beverage. Whilst the small island of Pantelleria has long been recognized for the quality of its wine within Italy, it was not well recognized internationally until the work of Marco de Bartoli helped to bring it greater exposure. The fortified wines gain much of their concentration from the use of soleras with an average age of up to 40 years.
Alongside the traditional fortified styles, the estate produces several dry styles of wine, showcasing the unique qualities of the native varietals - Grillo from Marsala and Zibbibo from Pantelleria. These wines are fermented in stainless steel and cold stabilized, something of a modern advancement for the winery in their first few vintages. Renato and Sebastiano continue to innovate, and in 2007 they released a new range of wines, called ‘Integer’ to contrast with the regular dry wines. They are made from the same juice, but undergo fermentation and batonage in old oak, creating a more textural and savoury style of wine that is also unfiltered and therefore has a distinctive cloudiness.
Grape: 100% Catarratto Lucido
Ageing potential: 3 – 4 years
Serving temperature and food pairing: Serve at 10-12 °C. To match with dishes of the Sicilian tradition, such as “sarde a beccafico” (typical stuffed sardines), or main courses of crustaceans and shellfish as a mussel soup.
Grape: 100% Grillo
Ageing potential: Unlimited
Serving temperature and food pairing: Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled 14-16 °C. Pairs perfectly with all sorts of dishes: pumpkin-filled pasta, soft and blue cheeses, foie gras, prawns as well as with dessert.
Grape: 100% Grillo
Ageing potential: Unlimited
Serving temperature and food pairing: At room temperature or slightly chilled, interesting and amazing as an aperitif. Don’t wait until the end of the meal to serve Vecchio Samperi, but drink it with aged cheeses, braised meats, oven-baked turbot.
Grape: 100% Pignatello
Ageing potential: 6 to 8 years
Serving temperature and food pairing: Serve at 14-16 °C. To pair with typical Sicilian recipes, such as “pasta con le sarde” (pasta with sardines) and dishes made of oily fish, white meat and vegetables.
