This special reserve of Vecchio Samperi began its aging process in 1978, when Marco De Bartoli reinstated the “perpetuo” or Solera method at Baglio di Samperi to produce the traditional local wine, known locally as stravecchio, which is the origin of the more famous Marsala wine.
Western Sicily, Contrada Samperi
17.5% vol.
1980
Between over 20 and over 40 years
Flat, calcareous-sandy, medium texture.
Training system: bush vine and Guyot espalier; 3,500 vines per hectare.
Manual in small crates, the last 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 for an average of 40 years, using the perpetuo method, also known as Solera.
Vecchio Samperi Quarantennale is a wine that has transcended time, following the traditional perpetuo method at Baglio di Samperi. But there’s a fascinating detail that makes it truly unique: the wine is drawn every 10 years. Every decade, a small portion of the wine is taken from the oldest barrel and replaced with fresh wine, in a cycle that continues without ever stopping.
This continuous aging process gives Vecchio Samperi an unparalleled complexity that grows and evolves over time. Aged in oak and chestnut barrels, it is a wine that is not afraid to live through time and surprise us every time.
The estate is located in Contrada Samperi, twelve kilometers from Marsala, on calcareous and sandy soil that the Mediterranean wind sweeps across unimpeded. The baglio dates back to the late nineteenth century — thick walls, filtered light, the scent of aged wood already noticeable from outside. Around it, Grillo vineyards cultivated in the alberello system, as is the tradition of this land.
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
