Thu. Oct 31st, 2024

Sweet Island Wine – Malvasia delle Lipari 2014 Barone di Villagrande

ByUmberto Gambino

4 November 2016
Malvasia delle Lipari

I want to tell you about a nice sweet wine that deserves to be known better: Malvasia delle Lipari Passito. Vintage 2014 of this wine is produced by Barone di Villagrande Estate which has its basement in the territory of Milo, to the south shadows of Mount Etna which is the highest active volcano in Europe (3.329 mt altitude). In June 2013 Etna was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

However, the grapes from which this wine originates are grown at the Vallone Casella lands on the Island of Salina (Aeolian archipelago in Tyrrhenian Sea, North East of Sicily). The wine Doc Malvasia delle Lipari is perfectly composed according Doc product specification: 95% of grapes Malvasia delle Lipari and a 5% of Corinto Nero, a red variety grape genetically similar as the Sangiovese.

This is an ecstatic wine. Flavor starts with typical notes of apricot dried, then iodine notes, broom flowers and honey. Taste is measured, polite, sweet but not too much, good freshness, soft, smooth and not very long. Ultimately: a sweet wine showing a never excessive sweetness but a good balanced taste.

You combine Malvasia with almond biscuits or with blue cheeses. But you also can drink as meditation wine.

Barbara Liuzzo and Marco Nicolosi Asmundo

Other good vintage of this wine are: 2011 and 2012.

Winery owner (which is also the winemaker) is Marco Nicolosi Asmundo, a son of wine grower: he helped in management from his wife Barbara Liuzzo, expert in marketing and communications.

Marco’s father is Baron Carlo Nicolosi Asmundo, university professor of oenology, drafter of the specification of Etna DOC wines. Marco represents the family’s 10th generation.

More technical details (if you want to read): the grapes left in the sun up to 12 days. The wine remain in bottles 9 months after the harvest.

Designations: DOC means wine from a designated region with winemaking rules that control quality

=====================
My rating: 88/100

Retail price: € 25 – $ 27,50

www.villagrande.it

Share this:
We talk about: , , , , ,

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

ByUmberto Gambino

Professional journalist and sommelier, from an early age I breathed the scents of the vineyard and tasted the wine in my grandfather's cellar, in Sicily. The multiple life and work experiences brought me first to Liguria, then to the capital. Roman by adoption, but always Sicilian at heart, I am always fascinated by the beauties of our Italy, between territories to explore and typical food and wine.