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| by
David Lynch, Wine Director
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| THIS
MONTH: MARSALA
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For
decades, the most famous wine exports of Sicily were the Sherry-like
fortified wines of Marsala, named for the Moroccan-accented
port town on the island's west coast. The wines of Marsala,
which have been banished to the kitchen in recent years, are
perhaps the most vivid examples of the myriad ethnic influences
that shape Sicily's culture and cuisine. The name Marsala, for
example, is thought to be derived from the Arab phrase "Marsah-el-Allah,"
or, "port of God," a name likely bestowed on by the island's
Moorish rulers centuries ago.
Marsala wine was first commercialized the British, who, as in
Jerez in Spain and Oporto in Portugal, created wines that could
withstand long sea journeys by fortifying them with grape brandy.
At its most basic, Marsala), like Sherry, is a fortified wine
made from white grapes (although there are some versions made
from red varieties). And like Sherry, Marsala is as stylistically
diverse as wines come: It can by dry, semi-sweet, or sweet,
and it comes in "oro" (gold), "ambra" ("amber") and "rubino"
(ruby) versions. There are also different age categories: Fine
(aged only a year, not necessarily in wood); Superiore (aged
a minimum of two years in oak or chestnut, and four years for
Superiore Riserva); and Vergine/Soleras (aged a minimum of five
years in wood and a minimum of ten for those labeled "Stravecchio"
or "Riserva").
Confused? Well, that's Marsala. Generally speaking, the market
for the more sippable, Sherry-like styles of the wine has dried
up, while mass-market brands used for cooking continue to survive
on the margins. Often these wines are made using a substantial
percentage of cooked grape must rather than straight wine and
grape brandy, a practice which has greatly diluted the character
of the wine.
That said, one of the lone holdouts in the production of artisan
Marsala, Marco De Bartoli, is again shipping his long-aged nectars
stateside. DeBartoli's "Vecchio Samperi," an example of the
rare Vergine/Soleras style, is aged using the fractional blending
method known as Solera, made famous in Jerez, Spain. Using a
battery of progressively smaller casks, DeBartoli continually
"tops up" his oldest wines with wines from the next-oldest vintage,
with the newest wines going in the largest cask at the end of
the battery. Vecchio Samperi is more than 40 years old, with
the smoky, nutty complexity of a fine Sherry. Try it with aged
pecorino cheeses, or maybe slightly chilled alongside some shellfish
or other seafood as an aperitif. It is a rare treasure in the
world of wine, and while its distribution is spotty in the US,
it is worth seeking out. Imported by Vias Imports, New York,
NY.
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To
purchase any of these wines, visit
Italian Wine Merchants online or in
New York City, just off Union Square! |
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