Donnafugata - Ben Ryé - Passito di Pantelleria 2023 (375ml)
Price: $58.99
| Producer | Donnafugata |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Sicily |
| Varietal | Zibibbo (Muscat of Alexandria) |
| Vintage | 2023 |
| Sku | 207940 |
| Size | 375ml |
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Donnafugata Description
Donnafugata was established in Sicily by a family that has been able to innovate the style and perception of Sicilian wine throughout the world. Giacomo Rallo, the fourth generation of a family with over 170 years of experience in quality wine, founded Donnafugata in 1983 together with his wife Gabriella. Today, their children José and Antonio lead the company and a team of people focused on excellence.
Donnafugata represents the artisan and creative excellence of Made in Italy. It is a winery in perpetual motion towards innovation and focused on small valuable productions from unique territories and vineyards. Sicily is a wine-growing continent and Donnafugata embodies this diversity cultivating its vineyards in very different contexts.
The winery can count on a historic family cellar in Marsala and four estates with vineyards and vinification cellars: in western Sicily, in Contessa Entellina, where Donnafugata has 848 acres of vineyards with 19 different grape varieties; in the volcanic island of Pantelleria, Donnafugata has 168 acres of Zibibbo cultivated with low bush vines called “alberello pantesco” (Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage).
Ben Ryé takes its name from the Arabic for “Son of the Wind” because of the ever-present breeze in Pantelleria which sweeps through the vines. And the fragrances that the island’s wind carries with it are so intense as to be almost palpable. The designer label celebrates the love, care and effort behind the heroic viticulture of this unique and captivating island. A sweet and enveloping portrait that reveals the wine's true essence.
Tasting Note: Golden color with bright amber hues. Very intense bouquet ranges from fruity notes of apricot, yellow peach and candied orange peel to tropical hints of mango and papaya, followed by hints of Mediterranean scrub.
On the palate, the fruity hints of aromatic herbs are combined with sweet nuances of honey. Intense and persistent, with an extraordinary balance between freshness and sweetness, Ben Ryè is a captivating Passito di Pantelleria.
Wine Pairing: Perfect with dry pastries, chocolate and jam or ricotta tarts. Try also with blue cheese and foie gras. Extraordinary on its own, as a meditation wine.
Vinous: 94+ Points
Exotic yet remarkably fresh, the 2023 Ben Ryé bursts from the glass with a seductive blend of white raisins, minty herbs, poached peaches and tropical citrus. It is weighty, rich and harmonious throughout, coming across as sweet but not cloyingly so. Ultra-ripe pit fruit combines with candied lemon and a crisp mineral tinge that adds form toward the close. Dramatically long, the 2023 leaves a resonance of sour melon and an air of confectionary spice while cleaning up well, leaving the palate completely refreshed.
