Donnafugata ‘Ben Ryé’ Passito di Pantelleria 2023

Decanter World Wine Awards 2025- 97 Points – Best In Show & Platinium Winner

“Strange to say, no Passito di Pantelleria has yet featured in our Best in Show selection, so we’re delighted to rectify the omission this year with this 2023 wine. It’s made, of course, with Muscat of Alexandria grapes (locally called Zibibbo) which are laid out on mats in the sun after harvest to dessicate and dry for about four weeks. The wine is a rich golden sunset orange. Oranges, too, set the tone for its astonishing, perfume-like aromas: once smelled, never forgotten. On the palate it is thick, liquorous and unctuous, though still bright with that intense orange fruit. In some sweet wines, sheer intensity of sugar substitutes for complexity. Not here. It’s almost as if the force of Pantelleria’s near-African sunlight has engraved the wine with layers and lessons of its own.”

Grapes were hand harvested and carefully selected in the vineyards. Upon reaching the winery, they underwent selection on a vibrating table before soft pressing. Fermentation took place in stainless-steel tanks at controlled temperatures. The dried grapes were destemmed and selected by hand before they were added to the fresh must in several batches. Ageing took place in stainlesssteel tanks for eight months with at least a further 12 months in bottle before release. 

Brilliant gold in colour with bright amber hues, the 2023 Ben Ryé has a very intense bouquet which ranges from fruity notes of apricot, peach, and candied orange to aromatic herbal hints of mediterranean shrubs. On the palate, sweet nuances of honey are married with rich fruity flavours to provide an intense and persistent finish with extraordinary balance.