Marsala Superiore Riserva Semisecco Florio 2001

The Florio Marsala Superiore Riserva Semisecco is a Sicilian fortified wine that impresses with its sweet and salty taste at the same time. Fundamental in determining the character of Marsala is the operation of "falling in love", that is, the addition of wine alcohol or wine brandy to the freshly fermented wine. In the Superiore category, the future Marsala is then also added with the so-called "concia", consisting of cooked must and mistella, the latter produced by adding alcohol to the fermenting must to stop the fermentation process and thus preserve a certain amount of residual sugars.

Florio Marsala Superiore Riserva Semisecco is made from pure Grillo grapes that grow in the coastal area of the municipality of Marsala and in the inland area of the province of Trapani. In particular, the vines are trained in the traditional Marsalese bush style on medium-textured red soils rich in sand, in the classic Mediterranean and breezy climate that characterizes the area. The harvest is done by hand at advanced ripeness and the grapes are then subjected to the pressing operation that precedes the fermentation at controlled temperature in cement containers. Once the fermentation process is completed, the wine is added with mistella, cooked must, and distilled wine and is then aged for 10 long years in oak barrels inside the Florio cellar, just 147 meters from the sea.

The Marsala Florio Superiore Riserva Semisecco is characterized by an intense amber color. The aromatic context is described by the meeting of sweet sensations of dried fruit, raisins, honey, nougat, and dates, along with deep hints of oak and leather, with notes of vanilla and cocoa on the finish. Rich, warm, and savory on the palate, very persistent and almost sharp on the close.