Founded in 1833, Cantine Florio is the world’s oldest Marsala producer and one of the original pioneers that brought this singular Sicilian wine to international prominence. The Vergine Riserva 1998 has its roots in the historic Cantina Garibaldi — 147 meters from the sea of Marsala — where the wine aged in a single 41FL tun for 23 years. A Vergine Riserva must age a minimum of 10 years in oak; this wine more than doubles that requirement. The Angel’s Share lost to evaporation during aging reached 41%, concentrating the wine to extraordinary depth and intensity. The coastal location means the cellars are dense with salty maritime humidity, which permeates the aging barrels and becomes an essential element of the wine’s character.

Powerful extraction forces come into play through the use of the traditional wine press to create musts loaded with colour, high dry extracts and intense savoury marine notes. Fermentation takes place in cement with continuous micro-oxygenation, which prepares the wine for its encounter with grape-derived ethyl alcohol. After fortification, the wine enters the long silent voyage in oak — 23 years in a single cask at the Cantina Garibaldi — before being bottled for only 900 lucky people.

A pronounced and vertical organoleptic profile, giving voice to evolving notes of menthol, black tea and liquorice, while on the palate it offers chestnut honey, root and extraordinary persistence.