Every year, the harvest tells a story of different sensations and potential. On Pantelleria, this is even more amplified. During the harvest, Marco De Bartoli often repeated that the essential element for obtaining his Passito di Pantelleria was the “August sun” (sole d’agosto)—the very month when the grapes are set out to wither at Bukkuram. Bukkuram “Sole d’Agosto” is the passito produced annually in the Bukkuram vineyard.
Bukkuram District, Pantelleria Island
14% vol.
2011
Between 40–55 years
Volcanic, terraced hillside.
Training system: alberello pantesco, 2,500 vines per hectare.
Manual; the second week of August for grapes to be withered, and the first week of September for those to be vinified.
Sun-drying of a portion of the grapes for at least two weeks on special drying mats, enclosed by thick lava stone walls. The remaining portion ripens on the vine until September for the production of the wine which, after fermentation with indigenous yeasts, is left to macerate for about three months with the raisins—previously destemmed by hand—which contribute sugar, color, and aromas.
After a brief period in barrels for at least 6 months, the wine undergoes aging in stainless steel tanks before bottling.
Every year, the harvest in Pantelleria tells different stories. And Bukkuram Sole d’Agosto is born precisely from these differences.
Marco De Bartoli always repeated that the “August sun” was the indispensable element for obtaining his passito: a natural intensity that only this month can provide. Bukkuram Sole d’Agosto offers a sensory photograph of Sicily.
Zibibbo grows in a unique territory, where the heat of the sun and the dry wind shape the clusters. Maceration with sun-dried grapes gives the wine a freshness and a fruity structure that makes it different from the traditional version.
This passito is younger, fresher, and more immediate, yet it never loses the deep connection with the land that generated it. Bukkuram Sole d’Agosto is the wine that carries the soul of Pantelleria, telling the story of an island that cannot be tamed.
12 HA
medium-textured sandy-limestone, flat
alberello and Guyot-trained vertical shoot positioning; 3,500 vines per hectare.
manual in small crates, during the final weeks of September.
Manual selection of grapes, soft pressing, natural sedimentation, traditional fermentation in oak and chestnut barrels at room temperature.
Aging in oak and chestnut barrels with the addition of 5% younger wine each year, using the traditional perpetual method.
8.600
