Rare Wines. Flashes of beauty between Bosa and Salina, two dream Malvasias

Sep 7 2022, 12:00 | by Gambero Rosso

Rare cubed. In this episode we take you to particularly evocative island destinations, Salina in Sicily and Bosa in Sardinia, to get to know two exquisitely handcrafted wines. They produce some of the most complex meditation dessert wines in the world, sharing grape and soils of volcanic origin

The palm trees of Bosa and the capers of Salina, on one side the delightful village on the Temo river, on the other a view of the sea and Stromboli. We offer you two wines that share the same grape, Malvasia, a territory of volcanic origin, and a generous dose of beauty. But not only. Both are produced with super traditional practices, bottled in very few numbers given the amount of work and the very low yields of the product. Wines that do not make anyone wealthy, except those who know how to appreciate them and pair them in the right context and with the right people. More than food, these are wines that need words.

We are talking about the Malvasia di Bosa of the Columbu brothers and the Malvasia delle Lipari Passito La Rosa Bianca made by Luigi Ramaglia. The origin of the name Malvasia? There are various theories, but historians agree on a reference. It is a medieval village of the Peloponnese, Monemvasia, which in 1463 fell under the control of Venice. And it was the Venetians who renamed the wine as Malviasa, exporting the wine to many countries.

Rare Wines. Two Malvasias from Sardinia and Sicliy to discover

wine

Malvasia di Bosa Ris. 2015

Columbu

Sardinia

white

Score:

/100

VINEYARD | Located in the heart of the small Denomination overlooking the Sardinian Sea, an area of gentle hills that slowly reach the shores. Rows of Malvasia, dry stone walls, lots of Mediterranean maquis, olive and fig trees that together give off a memorable scent. Malvasia di Bosa di Columbu is born from two historic vineyards. One is the Fraus vineyard, from the name of the locality in the territory of Magomadas, less than 2 hectares, 100 meters above sea level and facing both north and south. The other is located in Campeda, just over a hectare and a half, in the municipality of Bosa. The soils are volcanic, rich in minerals and poor in nitrogen. The microclimate is also...

wine

Malvasia delle Lipari Passito 2020

La Rosa Bianca

Sicily

sweet white

Score:

/100

VINEYARD | We are in Sicily, on the island of Salina, in the locality of Malfa, the vineyards overlook the sea and Stromboli peeks out in the background. A few metres from State Road 182, we find a handful of rows of zibibbo grapes, processed entirely by hand, with yields that only a crazy passion can justify. The berries, harvested late, are left to dry in the sun on cane racks for about two months, almost 90% of the product is lost. In the cellar the wine rests in used old barrels, without the addition of sulphites at any stage of vinification, for a unique style Malvasia. PERSON | Luigi Ramaglia works as commander of the port authority of Santa...