Just visit the Florio cellars to touch on the history of this extraordinary wine. Marsala is one of Italy's great wines, too often mistreated because of the havoc wreaked on it in years past. Fortunately, Florio continues to keep the tiller straight.
It is undeniable: the history of the Florio wineries and the history of Marsala wine coincide.. Vincenzo Florio was the first in Sicily who was able to compete with and surpass the English families who had dominance over the production of Marsala wine. This is also thanks to a small
escamotage
: tradition says that while his own factory was under construction, he had Woodhouse and Ingham-the first companies to start making Marsala-hire his trusted workers so that they could discover and learn the secrets of the art of making that wine.
Just by visiting the winery one realizes that in those places are preserved two hundred years of history: from the plaque commemorating General Garibaldi’s visit to the collection of rifles donated by Garibaldi himself, to the letter with which Horatio Nelson commissioned the Marsala for his fleet.
Talking labels
Coming to today, one cannot be silent about the very interesting work that has been done to Communicate the “mapping” of wines against the entire production pathway, also physical, with the distance the barrels have from the sea, the preponderant natural element on the complex dynamics of aging Marsala Florio wines: the closer the barrels are to the sea, the lower the temperature and the higher the humidity, giving the wine salinity and a marine soul. The messenger are “talking” labels showing such items as: the year of fortification, a summary of the wine’s journey within the barrels, the blend report, the years of aging, the Angel share, and the journey of the barrels within the aisles.
The Marsala Vergine Riserva 2003
So let’s find out what the label tells us about the Marsala Vergine Riserva 2003 from the Premium line. Meanwhile, it turns out that the vintage is 2002 and that 2003 is the year of fortification. Maturation began on June 26, 2003, in 16-18 hl barrels in the Garibaldi winery less than 100 meters away from the sea. On April 22, 2007, it was racked into 25.5 hl drums, also in the Garibaldi cellar, about 50 meters further inland. Racked again on May 22, 2009 in 18 hl kegs at the Donna Franca winery, slightly further inland, and then finally on July 12,2016 in keg 845 exactly 202 meters from the sea, also at the Donna Franca winery. The years of elevation in oak barrels totaled 18, and the angels’ share (theAngel’s share, that is, the amount of liquid evaporated from the barrels during aging) was 35%. We tasted it, of course, and the outcome of so much work is perceptible in the glass.
Marsala Superiore Riserva SR0301 2001
As for the second tasting, the Marsala Superiore Riserva SR0301 2001, this is the information provided on the label: the vintage is 1999 and the year of fortification is 2001; maturation took place for 20 years, entirely in the 140-meter-long Garibaldi cellar, 115 meters from the sea, initially in 16 hl barrels and since July 2008 in oak barrel n. 6DAG of 25.5 hl. Angel’s share was 33%.
Aegusa 1964
To these already excellent tastings we add a truly incredible one, namely theAegusa 1964. We are talking about a Riserva di Marsala Superiore Semisecco of which only one vintage is produced every decade-the best. For more information, we refer to the vertical we published some time ago: https://www.doctorwine.it/degustazioni/la-verticale/la-grandezza-dell-aegusa-florio.
TO READ THE WINE DESCRIPTIONS, WITH SCORE AND AVERAGE SHELF PRICE, CLICK ON THE TABS BELOW.
TASTINGS
