About this wine
Vineyard and terroir
The Grillo comes from a 12 ha vineyard in Contrada Samperi, Marsala, in western Sicily. The level site has medium-textured calcareous-sandy soil. Vines are 20–42 years old, planted at 3,500 vines per hectare and trained as alberello and Guyot espalier. Yield is 20 hl/ha.
Grapes
100% Grillo.
Vinification
The grapes are harvested manually in small crates during the final weeks of September and selected by hand. They undergo soft pressing and natural sedimentation, followed by traditional fermentation in oak and chestnut barrels at ambient temperature.
Ageing
Ageing takes place oxidatively in oak and chestnut barrels under the perpetuo method. Each year, a small amount is drawn from the oldest barrel and replaced with 5% younger wine. Numerous harvests therefore coexist in the finished wine, preserving continuity with old family reserves and historic lots that included wines dating to the early twentieth century.
Technical data
- Alcohol: 16.5% vol. in the technical sheet; the wine page gives 16% vol.
- Total acidity: 6.90 g/l
- pH: 3.32
- Residual sugar: 6.9 g/l
- Total SO₂: 23 mg/l
- Production: 8,600 bottles
Serving and pairing
Serve at room temperature or chilled. It can be poured as an aperitif or paired with aged cheeses, braised meats, oven-baked turbot, bottarga and oysters.
Label / history
Vecchio Samperi takes its name from the Samperi district in the Marsala hinterland, an arid limestone territory rich in minerals. First released in 1980, it was conceived as a return to the local wine that preceded commercially modified and fortified Marsala. The perpetual system renews the wine continuously without erasing the accumulated character of earlier harvests.
