Donnafugata Ben Ryé

A really complex dessert wine that can still remember that it was made from grapes, and the aromatic Zibibbo grape gives this an extraordinary range of aromas, from caramelized mandarin orange and dried apricot to black tea, via popcorn and sauteed peanuts. Such a beautiful balance of lush exotic-fruit and orange flavors and lively acidity. Everything fits so neatly and this still tastes fantastic now, but the longer you wait the better! Drink or hold.

The Donnafugata 2018 Passito di Pantelleria Ben Ryé shows that distinctive polished copper color that if you are a Ben Ryé fan like me, you will recognize a mile away. In fact, this celebrated Zibibbo-based dessert wine from Pantelleria always stands out in a crowd. It is one of Italy's A-list dessert wines. Fruit from alberello pantesco vines planted in volcanic soils is left to dry under the hot island sun and pushed forward in the appassimento process, thanks to steady sea winds. The aromas are also specific to this wine with sweet honey, glazed almond, brown sugar and sun-dried fig. This particular vintage is a hair less fresh perhaps in terms of acidity, but it is very expressive to the senses and concentrated in terms of texture. The pricing you see here is for the 375-milliliter bottle, but I tasted the wine from a 750-milliliter bottle (and total production is 60,000 bottles).