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Donnafugata - Lighea 2018
Background
"From the disheveled tresses the color of the sun, seawater flowed over the green, wide-open eyes." Thus Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa describes Lighea, the bewitching siren and principal figure in his novel. She has inspired the creation of a complex and innovative wine and an equally original label. "It was not easy to print this label", Gabriella (founder of Donnafugata, with her husband Giacomo) recalled, "and preserve the thousand shadings of colors of Pantelleria Island, painted in the original drawing."
Food pairing
Recommended with all types of oily fish, baked pasta in white sauce, fried fish. Serve it in tulip-shaped goblets of medium size; uncork at time of serving; excellent at 9-11 Celsius (48-52 Farenheit).
Harvest
The Zibibbo harvest at Donnafugata traditionally continues for about 4 weeks, in the 14 districts where the company has its vineyards that differ in altitude, exposure, proximity to or distance from the sea; this year, instead, – due to early ripening – the harvest was shorter, starting on 17/8 and concluding on 4 September.
Tasting notes
The Lighea 2018 has a brilliant straw yellow color with greenish reflections. The nose offers
a rich and fragrant bouquet with classic notes of orange blossom combined with citrus scents (citron and bergamot) and exotic fruit (lychees). The fruity and flowery notes return on the palate accompanied by marked freshness, with good persistence and a pleasant mineral finish. Recommended with all types of oily fish, baked pasta in white sauce, fried fish.
Vineyard
The vineyards are located on the island of Pantelleria (South-western Sicily) at an altitude from 20 to 400m above sea level; a complex mix of soils: volcanic, with terrains mainly cultivated on terraces, sandy, originating from lava, sub-acid or neutral. Deep and fertile, well-endowed with minerals. The vines are cultivated from low bush vines with a planting density from 2,500 to 3,600 plants/ha with yields of 5-6 tons/ha (2-2.4 tons per acres).
Vinification
Fermentation took place in stainless steel at a temperature of 14-16°C. Aging in tanks for two months and at least three months in bottle before release.
Vintage
A vintage with little rainfall compared to the average. This resulted in the need, in some vineyards, to perform cluster thinning in order to balance the crop load with soil water availability, to favor optimal ripening of grapes. On Pantelleria, in quantitative terms, a drop of about 20% compared to the company's average of recent vintages. The vintage yielded top quality grapes.
Estate
Donnafugata Winery is one of Italy’s finest wineries and praised by wine critics and wine lovers alike all over the globe. Located in Sicily, Donnafugata has various estates including the historic cellar in Marsala, the beautiful Contessa Entellina country house and vineyards in the western interior of the island, and another winery and estate in the windswept island of Pantelleria off Sicily’s southwest coast. The Rallo family who owns Donnafugata have been in the wine business for over a century and the current generation is extremely dynamic and visionary. The Donnafugata brand was born in the early 1980s by Giacomo and Gabriella Rallo in the family’s historic cellars and today their children José and Antonio play prominent roles in the company.
