(2024) Pantelleria is a small Italian island off of the coast of north Africa where Zibibbo, aka Muscat, grows in black volcanic soil. This is a typically golden/amber sweet wine with rich aromas of barley sugar and honey, dried apricot and fig, a depth of sultana too from these dried 'passito' grapes. The vanilla and white chocolate elegance of the palate is underpinned by a burgeoning spicy and deeply fruity richness, a sensation of toastiness (though it does not see barrel) completes a sumptuous but fresh picture.
(2017) The island of Pantelleria lies in the southern Med, between Sicily and the Tunisian coast, and lightly-fortified sweet wines like this are a speciality. Made from Zibibbo (Muscat), part dried on mats before fermentation, it has a golden hue and attractive nose that is both floral and lightly honeyed, with tea and tobacco notes. In the mouth it is much lighter than the Port wines tasted alongside, and the burnished orange and apricot character of the fruit is offset by very good acidity and only a gentle hint of the spirit adding a little warmth.
