2018 Mille e Una Notte

Wine Details
Producer

Donnafugata

Place of Origin

Italy

Contessa Entellina, Terre Siciliane

Sicily

Color

Red

Grape/Blend

Nero d'Avola, Syrah, Petit Verdot, other varieties

Reviews & Tasting Notes

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Drinking Window

2025 - 2034

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This year’s visit to Donnafugata included a six-vintage vertical of their flagship Mille e Una Notte, ranging from 2006 up to the newly released 2021. I’ve been singing this wine’s praises for many years, and now I wish I’d followed my advice and added more to my cellar along the way. The Mille e Una Notte is a blend of Nero d'Avola, Syrah and a mix of interplanted indigenous varieties aged for 14 months in new French oak barriques. When this wine sheds its new oak, what remains is something that I can best compare to old-school Bordeaux. With that said, it’s the Ben Ryé, a Passito di Pantelleria dessert wine, that I most closely associate with this estate. Ben Ryé is one of the best sweet wines in Italy, but also among the best in the world. Readers should also pay attention to Donnafugata’s Dolce & Gabbana bottlings. While I typically wouldn’t associate a partnership with a major international designer to be the best source for serious wine, this selection proves otherwise. Best of all, Donnafugata continues to excel with a wide range of value-oriented wines produced in volumes that make them very easy to source. This is a family-run estate with a focus not only on their own success, but the success of Sicilian wine as a whole. 

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Drinking Window

2024 - 2030

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- By Author Name on Month Date, Year

Donnafugata ranks among the largest estates of Sicily, and yet the level of quality across the board is remarkably high. When you add to that some very attractive labels and marketing, such as their partnership with Dolce and Gabbana, it easy to see why they are so popular. However, collectors shouldn’t hold this against them because at the core of this venerable estate are a number of wines that stand shoulder to shoulder with Italy’s best. The Passito di Pantelleria Ben Ryé is the first that comes to mind, and the 2019 tasted for this report is one of the most complete vintages I’ve ever tasted of it. The Mille e una Notte, a more international-style blending of Nero D'Avola, Petit Verdot and Syrah is usually at the top of the list as well; however this year, it was the difficult 2018 vintage that they had to contend with. Also worth paying attention to is the property’s growing portfolio on Etna, which hasn’t quite found its footing yet (in this critic’s opinion), yet it has the potential to be very strong. Add a selection of affordable deep reds and zesty whites, and you have a recipe for success.