DonnaFugata Polena 2007

A wine with bright gradations of golden yellow to green. It releases a widerange of olfactory notes enveloping us with elegance and style, suggesting hints of minerals, citrus and exotic fruits, adorned with the floral hints of acacia and broom. Light gold in colour, it has an appealing perfume of citrus and stoned fruit, with the Viognier adding its characteristic peach and apricot aromas. On the palate the wine is fresh but well-structured, with acacia and exotic fruit characters, offset by a crisp mineral quality.

PRODUCER

The Rallo family have been involved in wine production in Marsala for over 150 years, but were one of the first families to move into the production of high quality table wine when sales of Marsala started to decline. They have two estates in Sicily: 260 hectares at Contessa Entellina in the hills east of Marsala; and 68 hectares on the island of Pantelleria. Their winery in Marsala is ultra modern, and serves to preserve the flavours obtained in the vineyard. The name ‘Polena’ derives from the Italian for the ship’s figurehead which, in the 16th and 17th century were believed to bring the galleons good luck on their voyages of discovery round the world. Its first vintage was 2006.

VINEYARDS

Polena is made from Viognier and Catarratto grapes planted at approximately 5,000 vines/hectare, trained using a counter-espalier system and spur pruned.

VINTAGE

The 2008 grape harvest at Donnafugata’s Contessa Entellina estate was excellent, good weather conditions and scrupulous vineyard tending brought in very healthy, perfectly ripened grapes without a too high sugar content. The wines deriving from this vintage are very harmonious, with good acidic structure and a distinct aromatic base.

VINIFICATION

The Viognier grapes were picked in August and Catarratto a month later. After gentle pressing, the must was fermented in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks where it remained until bottling. The wine was released to the market after further three months in the bottle.