This Mandrarossa 'Serapias' Passito di Pantelleria boasts a bold minerality backed by equally bold alcohol content, reflecting the volcanic origins of the island's soils, the sunshine and the winemaking process. The intense bouquet offers notes of citrus, roses, jasmine, and raisins, while the full and round palate brings mineral and sweet flavours, with a hint of flint. The finish is long and persistent and this dessert wine works well with almond based desserts, Spicy Cheeses, and ricotta based desserts.

The Storie ritrovate project started with the goal of producing wines from Sicilian native gapes, that represent the true essence of the territories they come from.

About the Producer

First produced in 1999, the Mandrarossa wines come from a selection of the best sites from Cantine Settesoli’s 6,000 hectares of vineyard, situated in southwestern Sicily and planted with 32 different grape varieties. This range was conceived after the diverse soils of the vineyards were mapped, enabling the winemakers to focus on what were then ranked their best sites. Under the leadership of co-operative president Giuseppe Bursi, consultant winemaker Alberto Antonini has sought to improve viticulture, which in turn has resulted in better wines. Working with soil specialist Pedro Parra and head winemaker Mimmo De Gregorio, Alberto has selected 500 hectares of vineyard for the production of the Mandrarossa wines. These vineyards are situated close to the sea, where intense sunlight, moderating sea breezes, mild temperatures, multiple elevations and a myriad of different soil types combine to give the sort of grapes that Mimmo and Alberto are looking for.

Vineyard and Winery

The grapes are harvested from several districts of the island of Pantelleria. The first is Bukkuram District, on the western side of the island, on a small upland with alberello vineyards that reach the sea. The second is Piana della Ghirlanda, a stretch of vineyards that covers what 50 thousand years ago was the volcano’s caldera. Finally, Monastero, the area with the most vineyards on the island in the beautiful valley delimited by the edge of the Zighidì caldera, with south-west exposure. Soil are sandy with volcanic origin. The vines are alberello Pantesco-trained. The Passito is then vinified in the  Karuscia district, on the inner slopes of the island.

The grapes were hand-picked in crates, one part was withered for about 20/22 days, then the dried grapes were added to the fermenting must from the fresh grapes. Fermentation occurred in stainless steel tanks at 16/18°C. The wine was aged for about 10 months in stainless steel silos and for three months in the bottle before release.