Metodo Classico "Terzavia" Brut Nature DOC 2022

Terzavia means "the third way": after Marsala and the dry Grillo, it's the third interpretation the estate draws from this grape variety. The wine is dry, saline and marked by subtle oxidation, with a lean 11.5 % ABV and a bitter edge that carries its drinkability.

Grillo has grown on the limestone-rich soils around Marsala since Phoenician times. It was in Samperi that Marco de Bartoli realised his vision of authentic wines from this variety in 1978; today his children Renato, Sebastiano and Giuseppina run the estate, with Renato responsible for the vineyards and cellar in Samperi. The family farms 30 hectares organically, at a density of 3500 vines per hectare, trained in the traditional bush vine (alberello) or Guyot system, with harvesting done entirely by hand.

100 % Grillo. The grapes are picked from the second week of August, hand-selected and cooled, then gently whole-cluster pressed. After the must settles naturally, fermentation begins with native yeasts in stainless steel tanks, while 20 % of the grapes ferment at controlled temperature in French oak. The tirage is done with fresh must instead of sugar, after which the wine ages at least 18 months on its own lees.

The nose offers rye sourdough crust and fine pastry over autolytic notes and subtle oxidation, alongside persimmon, mandarin and peach, with a saline breeze and a touch of salt crystal. The palate opens with a fine-beaded mousse, then roasted almonds and salted butter on toasted sourdough bread. The restrained fruit shows extract-rich depth, followed by iodine and an invigorating bitter phenolic edge.

Brut Nature means: bottled with no dosage, with no sugar correction before closure. Since the tirage itself is done with fresh must, the wine retains its own fruit even through the second fermentation.