Images are shown for illustration purposes, vintage may vary.
Donnafugata
BELL'ASSAI FRAPPATO (RED WINE)
Sicily, Italy
91 points - James Suckling
Donnafugata is among the most recognizable Sicilian wineries, acclaimed for producing great wines that are an authentic representation of Sicilian territory. Donnafugata pays homage to the strength and power of women through the names of the wines and the label artwork.
Donnafugata Bell’Assai is a red wine from the Frappato grape, one of the most ancient Sicilian grape varieties. The Donnafugata Bell’Assai, with a ruby red color with violet reflections, radiates intense floral notes of freesia and lavender followed by fruity aromas of strawberry and cherry. On the palate it is fresh and fragrant with a soft tannin and a pleasant return of fruity notes. We suggest it with grilled vegetables, salumi, tasty fish dishes such as soups or guazzetti, try with tuna sushi.
Donnafugata was founded in 1983 by experienced winegrowing couple Giacomo and Gabriella Rallo. Their vision was to create a contemporary winegrowing operation based around three sites in western Sicily and to produce a range of international and indigenous variety wines to showcase the potential of Sicily. The name Donnafugata is from the phrase “donna in fuga” or "fleeing woman", referring to the novel of "Il Gattopardo" by Tomasi di Lampedusa and the story of a queen who found refuge in the part of Sicily where the company’s vineyards are located today. The Donnafugata logo is inspired by this story, with the image of a woman’s head with windblown hair. Donnafugata labels and wine names are works of art created or inspired by Gabriella Rallo and pay homage to art and literature.
The estate is comprised of an historic family cellar in Marsala that dates back to 1851, a 667-acre estate at Contessa Entellina planted to a diverse range of grapes, and a third cellar on the volcanic island of Pantelleria, where Donnafugata cultivates 168 acres of Zibibbo vineyards. State-of-the-art, sustainable viticulture techniques are used at all three estates. The winery was one of the first wineries in Italy to produce all of its electricity from solar energy. In 2015 the island of Pantelleria was given UNESCO certification recognizing its unique vine training method.