- My Rating: [A-]
Ben Ryé 2009 Passito di Pantelleria, 14.5% ABV, 375 ml., (Sicily, Italy)
on the back label:
“Made from Zibibbo (Muscat of Alexandria) grapes ripened and well dried in the sun and wind of the island. Sipping wine, perfect with herbed cheeses, fois gras and sweet preparations of the Sicilian tradition. Try it with gianduia. Serve at 14°C.”
- Style: (Passito di Pantelleria) Dessert Wine
- Taste: Rich warm clove orange peel apricot honey fig
- Where I got it : Liberty Wines, Vancouver
- How much: $49 CAD, only $1 off – 375ml., May 2013
- Do I love this enough to drink it again: delicious, but unlikely
- Would I recommend this to dessert wine aficionados: yes
Visual: (2009 Vintage, cellared for 7 years). Pour dark oak brown.
Nose: candied orange, caramel florals. (lvl-6)-pungency
Attack: syrupy slick mouthfeel, incoming dense sugary tang
Mid-palate: clove spiced orange peel, (lvl-7-sweetness) non-cloying, controlled tangy acidity, apricot, almost woody
Finish: soft throat warmth, honey, caramel fig
Summary: Superbly balanced. Lots of warm depth with delicious rounded orange-apricot and a solid acidic backbone.