Marchesi Antinori 2023 Muffato della Sala Umbria IGT 500ml

Muffato della Sala isn't a simple passito, the more common Italian style of sweet wine made by drying grapes after harvest — it's a genuine muffato, built entirely around Botrytis Cinerea, the noble rot that transforms grapes on the vine itself. This is a rare phenomenon on Italian soil, far more commonly associated with France's Sauternes region, and Antinori has spent decades pushing this specific Umbrian expression toward genuine excellence, refining the exact grape selection for this wine since 1987. The result is one of Italy's most distinctive and least common dessert wine styles, made in strictly limited quantities each vintage.

The wine is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc (60%), joined by Grechetto, Traminer, and Riesling, sourced from Castello della Sala's own vineyards near Orvieto, on clay-based soils rich in marine fossils. The grapes are left on the vine deliberately late, harvested in progressive stages through late October and into early November, specifically to allow the morning mists that roll through this stretch of Umbria to trigger the development of noble rot on the berries — a process that concentrates both sugar and aromatic intensity as the affected grapes lose water content. The 2023 growing season began with a mild, low-precipitation winter, followed by an unusually wet spring that recharged groundwater reserves and slowed both budbreak and flowering by roughly a week relative to seasonal norms; warmer, summer-like temperatures then settled in from mid-July through the end of August, with ideal swings between day and night that favored balanced ripening.

Once harvested, the botrytized grapes are hand-sorted on tables, gently crushed with their stems still attached, then pressed and fermented for 18 days at approximately 17°C. Still sweet at this stage, the wine transfers into 228-liter oak barrels for several months before continuing to age in stainless steel. The 2023 pours a bright golden yellow, with Antinori's own tasting notes describing "remarkable elegance and complexity" on the nose — ripe tropical fruit, pineapple, mango, and papaya, accompanied by dried apricot, candied citron zest, and yellow peach, with floral notes of chamomile, saffron, and fresh ginger emerging alongside. The palate is mouth-filling and genuinely sweet, but held in real balance by lively acidity that brings energy and freshness rather than heaviness, closing on a persistent, harmonious finish of exceptional depth, revealing honey, citrus fruit jam, dried apricot, and candied fruit. This is a genuine rarity — Italian noble rot done at the highest level, from one of the country's most respected wine families.

Origins & Craftsmanship

Muffato della Sala is produced by Marchesi Antinori at Castello della Sala, a medieval estate in Umbria roughly 18 kilometers from the historic city of Orvieto, near the border with Tuscany. The wine's specific grape selection has been refined since 1987, and it remains Antinori's signature sweet wine — a genuine muffato rather than a passito, built entirely around Botrytis Cinerea, or noble rot, a phenomenon considerably rarer on Italian soil than in France's Sauternes region.

The blend combines Sauvignon Blanc (60%) with Grechetto, Traminer, and Riesling, grown in vineyards between 200 and 450 meters above sea level on clay-based soils rich in marine fossils. Grapes are left on the vine deliberately late, hand-harvested in progressive stages through late October and early November, allowing the morning mists characteristic of this part of Umbria to develop noble rot on the berries, concentrating their natural sugars and aromatic intensity. Once brought to the cellar, clusters are further sorted on selection tables for quality, then gently crushed with their stems intact before pressing. The must ferments for 18 days at approximately 17°C, and the still-sweet wine transfers into 228-liter oak barrels for several months of aging, followed by a further period in stainless steel tanks before bottling. Bottled at 12.5% ABV, in a 500ml format.

Critics Reviews

No numerical critic score is confirmed for the 2023 vintage at this time.

Marchesi Antinori (official tasting notes):
"Muffato della Sala 2023 is a bright golden yellow color. Remarkable on the nose for elegance and complexity with notes of ripe tropical fruit, pineapples, mangoes and papayas accompanied by hints of dried apricots, candied citron zest and yellow peaches. Floral aromas of chamomile, saffron and fresh ginger emerge. The palate is mouth filling, sweet but well-balanced by lively acidity that imparts energy and freshness. The finish is persistent, harmonious with exceptional depth and reveals notes of honey, citrus fruit jam, dried apricots and candied fruit."

Land of Wines (house style context):
"The 'Muffato della Sala' from the Castello della Sala estate, property of the Marchesi Antinori, is a rare and precious pearl, produced in limited quantities. It is in fact not a simple passito, but a muffato... a rather rare phenomenon on Italian soil, unlike the French Sauternes area, and Antinori's signature has been to push excellence to this precious liquid."

Tasting Profile

Nose
Bright golden yellow. Ripe tropical fruit leads — pineapple, mango, and papaya — accompanied by dried apricot, candied citron zest, and yellow peach. Floral aromas of chamomile, saffron, and fresh ginger emerge with air.

Palate
Mouth-filling and genuinely sweet, balanced by lively acidity that imparts real energy and freshness rather than heaviness — the noble rot's concentration evident throughout without ever feeling cloying.

Finish
Persistent and harmonious, with exceptional depth, revealing honey, citrus fruit jam, dried apricot, and candied fruit — a genuinely long, layered close typical of the world's finest botrytized wines.

Quick Overview

Food Pairings

• Seared foie gras
• Blue cheese
• Crème brûlée and custard-based desserts
• Fresh fruit tarts
• Aged hard cheeses

Serving Note

Serve at 12-14°C.