Winemaker Notes
With a bright ruby red color, Bell'Assai 2023 presents fragrant fruity notes of wild strawberries and red currants, followed by floral hints of violet on the nose. On the palate, it is characterized by a pleasant recall of the fruity notes and a refined balance between acidity and smooth tannins.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
An intense and perfumed red with aromas of rosewater, strawberries and cherries. Light-bodied, it shows a lean palate with tight and crisp acidity, lightly framed tannins and a juicy finish.
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Vinous
The 2023 Frappato Bell'Assai opens like a basket of blackberries laced with violets, sage and a hint of fresh tobacco. Juicy in character, it offers a savory core of wild berry fruits elevated by cooling acidity. Nuances of lavender pastille resonate over a coating of crisp tannins as the 2023 tapers off with a lovely fresh persona. Incredibly pretty, the 2023 keeps the palate aching for more.
In 1983, the experienced winegrowing couple Giacomo and Gabriella Rallo decided to invest in a new Sicilian project that they called “Donnafugata.” Their vision was to create a contemporary winegrowing operation based around three sites in western Sicily and to produce a range of international and indigenous variety wines to showcase the potential of Sicily.
Today the estate is comprised of an historic family cellar in Marsala that dates back to 1851, a 667-acre estate at Contessa Entellina planted to a diverse range of grapes, and a third cellar on the volcanic island of Pantelleria, where Donnafugata cultivates 168 acres of Zibibbo vineyards. The company employs state-of-the-art, sustainable viticulture techniques at all three estates for wines of the highest quality.
At Donnafugata, stewardship of the environment is taken as seriously as the production of wine. The winery was one of the first wineries in Italy to produce all of its electricity from solar energy, taking advantage of the bountiful Sicilian sunshine, and in 2015 the island of Pantelleria was given UNESCO certification recognizing its unique vine training method.
The name Donnafugata refers to the novel by Tomasi di Lampedusa entitled Il Gattopardo (The Leopard). A name that means “donna in fuga” (woman in flight) and refers to the story of a queen who found refuge in the part of Sicily where the company’s vineyards are located today.
Frappato is one of Sicily’s exciting indigenous red varieties and, in combination with Nero d’Avola, is responsible for the acclaimed Cerasuolo di Vittoria wines—the only DOCG of Sicily. It makes a lively single varietal wine as well with charming strawberry, pomegranate, white pepper and violet qualities. Somm Secret— Frappato is a likely descendant of the Tuscan Ciliegiolo grape, which is named after the Italian word for cherry, ciliegia. Incidentally, the wine of Cerasuolo di Vittoria is also named for Sicilian dialect word for cherry, cerasa.
A large, geographically and climatically diverse island, just off the toe of Italy, Sicily has long been recognized for its fortified Marsala wines. But it is also a wonderful source of diverse, high quality red and white wines. Steadily increasing in popularity over the past few decades, Italy’s fourth largest wine-producing region is finally receiving the accolades it deserves and shining in today's global market.
Though most think of the climate here as simply hot and dry, variations on this sun-drenched island range from cool Mediterranean along the coastlines to more extreme in its inland zones. Of particular note are the various microclimates of Europe's largest volcano, Mount Etna, where vineyards grow on drastically steep hillsides and varying aspects to the Ionian Sea. The more noteworthy red and white Sicilian wines that come from the volcanic soils of Mount Etna include Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio (reds) and Carricante (whites). All share a racy streak of minerality and, at their best, bear resemblance to their respective red and white Burgundies.
Nero d’Avola is the most widely planted red variety, and is great either as single varietal bottling or in blends with other indigenous varieties or even with international ones. For example, Nero d'Avola is blended with the lighter and floral, Frappato grape, to create the elegant, Cerasuolo di Vittoria, one of the more traditional and respected Sicilian wines of the island.
Grillo and Inzolia, the grapes of Marsala, are also used to produce aromatic, crisp dry Sicilian white. Pantelleria, a subtropical island belonging to the province of Sicily, specializes in Moscato di Pantelleria, made from the variety locally known as Zibibbo.