Berserkers,
Marsala is a wine style I’ve never read anyone post about on the board. This is probably because most people think of it is a cheap sweet cooking wine used for Chicken Marsala and desserts. I looked into that and that type of Marsala wine seems to be made from cooked grape must (Mosto Cotto). But apparently Marsala is to Italy what Madeira is to Portugal and Sherry is to Spain and treated with the same reverence. We just apparently don’t get any of the good stuff here in North America. But I managed to get my hands on one bottle and now I really regret that I didn’t get any more of this little gem:
CANTINE FLORIO 1998 BAGLIO MARSALA VERGINE – 100% Italian Grillo grapes and aged in barrel for 10 years. Rich dark brown color. Slightly bitter walnut nose. Toasted nuts and rancio for days on the palate. Unlike the strong dry saline note you get from Spanish Sherry, however, a rich white stone fruit component comes on during the midpalate and then blends back into the nuts and rancio which finish strong. The fruit note is sweet tasting but not sugary. This is a really fascinating and flavorful wine. I really didn’t know what I was getting into so I only got 1 bottle of this. I really regret that now. Had I known how good it was, I would’ve picked up a couple of more bottles at least.
