De Bartoli

  • Marsala, Sicily, Italy
Marco De Bartoli

Thank you to importer Louis/Dressner for this profile of De Bartoli

(Click here for much more on De Bartoli on Louis/Dressners's website or here for De Bartoli's own website)

Marsala production dates back to the 1770's, when the Englishman John Woodhouse accidentally stumbled across the local wine made in a method called il perpetuum, basically a fortified wine. He immediately shipped it back to England, where it was successfully received. In the following decades more British-born merchants arrived, production increased, a harbor and nearby warehouse was built for ease of transport (based on the Oporto model) and most importantly the solera system was imported from Madeira and  Sherry. This prosperity continued through the next century and beyond 1860, when the Italian states unified (Garibaldi landed his unifying army of exiles in the port of Marsala - the rest is history). At that point, an important business man named Vincenzo Florio started bottling Marsala independently and under his own name. The wine steadily rose in popularity over the years, and by the early 1900's there were a 100+ wineries in the city of Marsala, most located right on the coast for easy exporting.
By the 1960's, local wine cooperatives had grown considerably and production started focusing on quantity instead of quality. Instead of using the indigenous and traditional Grillo, co-ops started blending all types of white grapes indiscriminately. Furthermore, fortification, chaptalisation and the addition of caramel food coloring or cooked must to give the illusion of advanced oxidation became commonplace. Predictably, the increasingly poor quality of Marsala slowly killed off the reputation of what was once highly distinguished wine. Even today, many still consider Marsala little more than cheap cooking wine for the staple recipes of Italian-American restaurants.

Enter Marco de Bartoli. In his youth, Marco had worked with his father on his family farm near the town of Marsala. But his obsession with cars and a need for speed proved too strong, leading to a first career as a professional race car driver. Towards the end of this career, however, Marco was ready to turn a new leaf. Thinking back on his youth, he felt a deep sadness that the once proud tradition of Marsala had sunken so low. He decided he wanted to change this.

First, Marco reconstructed his family's old cellar on his mother's farm in the contrada of Samperi. Then he searched high and wide for old solera barrels of Grillo from local contadini. Much to his surprise, many were eager to part with these ancient relics, some even happy to give them to him for free! Next came the vines, planted progressively and exclusively in Grillo, which in Marco's eyes was and is THE ONLY grape to make Marsala due to its high acidity, ability to reach high degrees of alcohol and aging potential. Finally the wines: "Vecchio Samperi" represented the unfortified, traditional style of Marsala while the "Superiore" line was fortified with mistella (sweet must and eau de vie) as a statement that the cantina was not only rooted in the past, but well versed in the present and future.

In 1984, Marco started a new project on the island of Pantelleria, originally producing only a Passito. By the early 1990's, his had garnered a stellar reputation for being alone in making truly stunning expressions of Marsala  terroir.

But the story doesn't end there. By the mid 1990's, Marco's children Renato, Sebastiano and Giusippina had all joined him in this work. Youthful energy led to new experiments, most notably dry white wines from Grillo and later Zibibbo from Pantelleria. While chemicals had never been used in the vineyards and the Grillo for the Marsala was never yeasted, conventional yeasts were used on the dry whites until 2006. Sebastiano elaborates on working organically and using native yeast fermentations:

"Our idea was always to make wine as a product of the land so we have always eschewed systemic chemicals. I do not remember a particular date we followed this course (organic), but I can tell you that about ten years ago I personally began to follow this campaign and have been sure of it ever since. I distinctly remember that even before then my father did not want to do intensive agriculture and prevented the farmer who worked our lands from using fertilizers, herbicides and so on...

Up to now we did not seek organic certification because it did not seem a serious approach and my father's point of view was never to have "organic" be a selling point for his work. But my dad was extreme and today organics seem to be a more serious issue. We understand the need for people to have the certification, so we are now seeking it.

For the indigenous yeasts, the key was the production of the "Integer" in 2006. I am not reneging the selected yeast used in the 90's because it allowed us to understand an innovative form of Grillo and Zibibbo. But with the experiments of the Integer we understood the potential of the land was far more important than so many other things, knowing also that it was more risky.  It may not always be the same for the tastes and aromas of the wine, but it certainly enhances the territorial typicity."

Image Producer PRODUCT Description Country / Region

DB5300-20
Organic
De Bartoli Extra Brut Metodo Classico DOC Sicilia "Terzavia"
2020
Grillo
100% Grillo. A méthode-champenoise or metodo classico wine from the organically farmed estate vineyard in the Samperi contrada of Marsala....
Italy

DB5201-22
Organic
De Bartoli Zibibbo IGT Terre Siciliane "Pietranera"
2022
Zibibbo
100% Zibibbo. De Bartoli was the first to make a dry Zibibbo on the island of Pantelleria, where the hot climate and ancient viticultural...
Italy

DB5210-22
Organic
De Bartoli Vino Bianco "Sole e Vento"
2022
50% Zibibbo/50% Grillo. "Sole e Vento" is named for the two sunny and windy islands on which De Bartoli grows these grapes. All are farmed... Italy

DB5200-22
Organic
De Bartoli Grillo IGT Terre Siciliane "Vignaverde"
2022
Grillo
100% Grillo. From organically farmed estate vines in the Samperi contrada of Marsala, picked the earliest of all for De Bartoli's "...
Italy

DB4712-22
Organic
De Bartoli Grillo IGT Terre Siciliane "Grappoli del Grillo"
2022
Grillo
100% Grillo. From organically farmed estate vines in the Samperi contrada of Marsala. They are 30 years old, planted on sandy, limestone-...
Italy

DB5301-22
Organic
De Bartoli Catarratto IGT Terre Siciliane "Lucido"
2022
Catarratto
100% Catarratto. De Bartoli has a long-term lease on 2 hectares of Catarratto about 20 km to the east in Alcamo. The 20-year-old vines grow...
Italy

DB0989-21
Organic
De Bartoli Grillo IGT Terre Siciliane "Integer"
2021
Grillo
100% Grillo. From organically farmed estate vines in the contrada of Samperi in Marsala. The vines are 30 years old, grow on sandy,...
Italy

DB5202-21
Organic
De Bartoli Pignatello IGT Terre Siciliane "Rosso di Marco"
2021
Pignatello
100% Pignatello aka Perricone. De Bartoli has a long-term leasse on 2 hectares of Pignatello about 20 km to the east in Alcamo. The vines...
Italy

DB5206-NV
Organic
VM:93 WA:92
De Bartoli Vino Perpetuo "Vecchio Samperi"
NV
Grillo
“Vecchio Samperi” is the starting and departure point for De Bartoli marsalas and in fact for its whole raison d’être. Marco De Bartoli...
Italy

DB3830-19
Organic
De Bartoli Vino Liquoroso Pignatello IGT Terre Siciliane "Joséphine Rouge"
2019
Pignatello
100% Pignatello (aka Perricone). De Bartoli has 2 hectares of Pignatello vines planted in 1992 on clay-loam soils in the nearby province of...
Italy

DB5208-14
Organic
De Bartoli Passito di Pantelleria DOC "Padre della Vigna"
2014
Zibibbo
100% Zibibbo. From very low, bush-trained, organically farmed vines on De Bartoli's estate in the contrada of Bukkuram on the island of...
Italy

DB5208-19
Organic
De Bartoli Passito di Pantelleria DOC "Padre della Vigna"
2019
Zibibbo
100% Zibibbo. Mainly from 35-50-year-old, bush-trained vines, grown very low to the ground on very light, sandy, brown, volcanic soils in...
Italy

DB5207-22
Organic
De Bartoli Passito di Pantelleria Sole di Agosto Bukkuram
2022
Zibibbo
100% Zibibbo. The most prominently featured word on this label, "Bukkuram", transmits what is most meaningful to the De Bartolis about this...
Italy

DB5213-17
Organic
De Bartoli Marsala Superiore Oro "Vigna La Miccia"
2017
Grillo
100% Grillo. “La Miccia” is the sweetest, shortest-aged version of a De Bartoli marsala wine and the only one not oxidative in style. As...
Italy

DB5213-18
Organic
De Bartoli Marsala Superiore Oro "Vigna La Miccia"
2018
Grillo
100% Grillo. “La Miccia” is the sweetest, shortest-aged version of a De Bartoli marsala wine and the only one not oxidative in style. As...
Italy

DB5205-88
Organic
De Bartoli Marsala Superiore Oro Riserva
1988
Grillo
100% Grillo. All De Bartoli's marsala wines are pure Grillo, a rarity--as is its being organically farmed, estate-only, hand-harvested...
Italy

DB8853-04
Organic
V:96
De Bartoli Marsala Superiore Oro Riserva
2004
Grillo
100% Grillo. All De Bartoli's marsala wines are pure Grillo, a rarity--as is its being organically farmed, estate-only, hand-harvested...
Italy