Even Bloomberg, through the pen and keyboard of its expert Elin McCoy, has recently decreed the worldwide success of Pantelleria wine, the celebrated Zibibbo, and in particular that of Marco De Bartoli, historic winemaker, vintage 2016. Elin has placed at the top of its ranking of the 10 best wines of 2018 (which includes famous champagnes, surprising Australians and prestigious Californians), after having tasted 4 wines in the past twelve months.
“This year it was surprisingly difficult to pick just the top 10 experiences. The pages of my notebooks are star-studded, especially for late Bordeaux vintages (including the 2016s), California cabernets from wineries celebrating the 40th and 50th anniversaries of their founding, and luxury champagnes from the superb 2008 vintage The wines that most impressed me, however, were those that made me reflect on where the world of wine has been and where it is headed”.
His choice first of all went to Marco De Bartoli's island masterpiece, the Integer Zibibbo Grillo Terre Siciliane IGP, at 30 dollars a bottle. Elin met him on her first visit to the island and was won over by the scent, the power of the flavor and the aromas of citrus and chamomile. She and she was obviously also conquered by the spectacular setting of the place. “We sipped this vintage – she commented – on the cellar terrace overlooking the vines planted in the volcanic sand”.
This award-winning masterpiece is called Integer from the Latin "integro" since its entire journey is deeply interwoven with traditional millenary rites, being absolutely native and with minimal human intervention, without any mechanical, chemical, physical treatment, with the sole use of copper and sulphur, and then with manual harvesting. Because the entire "creation" process takes place in the strictest respect for natural rituals. Fermented on the skins in used barrels and terracotta amphorae, it reaches maturity without ever having been treated by corrections, refrigeration or filtrations.
