Marco de Bartoli: history, traditions, Marsala wines passed down through generations
March 19, 2023
MARCO DE BARTOLI: LIVING HISTORY, TRADITIONS, A STRONG CALL TO THE LAND AND A BELIEF IN TRADITIONAL MARSALA WINES PASSED DOWN THROUGH GENERATIONS.
At the Marco de Bartoli winery you live this and of this.
I think there is no need to tell you the importance of the figure of Marco de Bartoli for the Marsala territory, you should know it. But in two words – he was a visionary, the forerunner. Because while most producers in Marsala made the commercial choices in favor of international grapes, he, firm in his convictions and driven by the will to win on all fronts, carried on the work focused on traditional grape varieties, but also legendary production techniques, such as the introduction of the Soleras Method, and he was right!
“By the1960s, local wine cooperatives had grown considerably and production started focusing on quantity instead of quality. Instead of using the indigenous and traditional Grillo (which thanks to its characteristics as high acidity, ability to reach high degrees of alcohol, and aging potential, lends itself very well to oxidation), they started blending all types of white grapes indiscriminately. Besides, fortification, chaptalization, and the addition of caramel food coloring or cooked must to give the illusion of advanced oxidation and complexity became commonplace. Predictably, the increasingly poor quality of Marsala slowly killed off the reputation of what was once a highly distinguished wine. Even today, sadly, many still consider Marsala little more than a cheap cooking wine.”
To this day, the work at the two estates in Marsala and Pantelleria is carried on with great pride by his children, who warmly welcomed me at the Marsala estate in Contrada Fornara Samperi.
It was very exciting to come back after several years to the family’s ancient 19th-century baglio and see the continuous evolution and expansion of the vineyards and cellar spaces. To enter the area dedicated exclusively to the production of sparkling wines (I don’t know about you, but I am a huge consumer of the classic method “Terzavia” made from Grillo grapes), to see the barrel room full of Pipe (traditional barrels of Marsala) where “I Grappoli del Grillo” is aging, and to smell the distinctive scent of Marsala wine in the air. But above all, to be able to rediscover the faces of their exquisite wines, such as they have multiplied and evolved, accompanied by the wise minds and hands of Gipi, Renato, and Sebastiano.
The wines of the De Bartoli winery are top-notch expressions of a generous and evocative territory, in which the Samperi vineyards in Marsala, located on an alluvial basin, and the Bukkuram vineyards in Pantelleria, illuminated by an African sun, stand out.
Wines that are rooted in quality and ancient and virtuous traditions, yet not renouncing more modern techniques… giving birth to the historic and prestigious labels of different styles of Marsala wines, as well as to Vecchio Samperi (Pre-British Marsala), Passito di Pantelleria, and both white and red dry wines varied range from typical local grape varieties: Grillo, Zibibbo, Catarratto, and Pignatello.
Wines that have made wine history of wine and continue to trace it not only in Italy but all over the world.
Tags :
artisanal wine,fortified wine,marsala,natural wine,sicilian winery
