MARSALA TASTING AT VINITALY 2011

Although we were at Vinitaly in Verona to meet and taste with Italian producers from whom we import – and to discover new wines – we couldn’t resist a structured tasting titled “The Golden Nectar of the Mediterranean – Sherry and Marsala”. The tasting was under the auspices of Decanter magazine, but, given the selection of stellar marsala and basic sherry, I feel it was somewhat biased towards the Italians – so much so that I’ve decided to omit my sherry notes.

Marsala is a style of wine that is misunderstood world-wide. Mention marsala and most people think of something cheap, sweet and sticky. The real thing is something completely different. It is a Sicilian specialty – a fortified wine that is quite like sherry in character, hence the pairing of the two styles in this tasting.

Marsala Tasting Notes

NV Pellegrino Vergine Solera Dry Gold colour. Attractively nutty nose which is a little toffee-like, akin to young muscadelle. There’s also a hint of Easter bun aroma. The palate is long, tangy and bone dry – close to classic amontillado. An excellent aperitif. Highly Recommended

1995 Martinez Vergine Riserva Gold colour. Complex and fresh, with a slight Lillet-like orange peel character. The finish is dry, but it has richness and intensity to compensate. The palate is like aged amontillado. Another delightful aperitif. Outstanding

NV Mario de Bartoli Vecchio Semperi Very fresh, showing nuances of toffee, orange peel and coconut. There’s great richness of flavour, plenty of substance and a dry, lingering finish – more like Oloroso. Highly Recommended

2000 Cantine Florio Terre Arse Vergine A superb wine with an unfortunate name for English speakers. It’s superbly complex and vanilla toffee-like, yet lively and fresh. The finish is very long and dry. I could imagine enjoying this with shavings of Reggiano or Manchego. One of the facilitators correctly described it as “a wine for meditation.” Outstanding

NV Martinez Invecchiato in Rovere 5 Anni Superior Secco A very rich caramel, nuts, orange peel style with just a touch of sweetness to provide balance. It would have finished searingly dry otherwise. Highly Recommended

2007 Cantine Florio Vecchio Superior Secco Comparatively light, with pronounced citrus overtones. Medium-sweet but simple. Towards Madeira. Recommended

NV Cantine Florio Dona Franca Affinato in Rovere Oltre 15 Anni Deep gold/bronze colour. Beautifully intense, aged and complex, but brilliantly freshened. There are suggestions caramel, nuts and Christmas pudding. The palate is fairly sweet and tangy, delivering an impression similar to good Australian oloroso styles. Outstanding

NV Pellegrino Oro Dolce Superiore Riserva Light gold colour. Delicate, complex and perfectly freshened, with fragrant muscat overtones. Sweet and dry simultaneously. Utterly delicious. Outstanding

Very small quantities of these wines find their way to Australia. They are worth taking a lot of trouble to seek out, because they do rank with the best fortified wines of the world. If you wish to cook the classic Italian veal Marsala, you must have a wine like the Mario de Bortoli above. Simple, sweet and sticky will not do.

Lester Jesberg

PostScript - Availabilty in Australia

For general use, I drink and use the NV Pellegrino IP Fine Marsala at around $16.00. Many retailers seem to stock this entry level wine from Pelegrino which is ideally suited to veal marsala. The Australian importers are Arquilla Wines (http://arquilla-wine.com) who not only stock the Pelligrino wines mentioned above by Lester but also some other rare gems like 1962 Pellegrino Marsala Vergine Riserva - ask your favourite retailer to contact them. Enoteca Sileno in Melbourne (www.enoteca.sileno.com.au) imports the Callo Marsala range which includes Callo Marsala Vergine 20 years.

Len Sorbello