Published by Jeremy.
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Sicilian-made Grillo is quickly becoming one of those grapes that we enjoy no matter how it is made. Young? Delicious. Oaked? We can dig it. A bit older? A lot have developed some nice character with time, too.
So while we were in Sicily, we made sure to buy as many bottles of Grillo as we could to bring home. One bottle was Marco de Bartoli Vignaverde, which, true to name, drinks like a light and refreshing wine all with the character of Grillo we know and love!
A Young Grillo by Marco de Bartoli
This young Grillo was pale gold in color with medium(+) aromas of pear, lemon curd, pineapple, beeswax grapefruit, and white blossom.
On the palate it was dry with high acidity, medium alcohol, medium(+) body and flavor intensity, and a long finish. We had notes of lemon, lime, grapefruit, candied pineapple, white blossom, beeswax, wet stone, saline, and pear. It also was lightly effervescent.
This one hit us with some of the notes that we love about a grillo, particularly in the phenolic/texture department, but admittedly also had some bright acidity and strong citrus notes expected in a young, green-style wine. Could you pass this one off as a bright Albarino? We can see the resemblance.
Grillo Food Pairing – Corn Filled Capelleti with Lentil Salad
We paired this Grillo with a pureed corn capelleti pasta and a lentil and roasted tomato salad. The pasta was mildly sweet due to the corn filling and helped bring out stronger citrus and peach notes that offset the sugars in the corn well. The lentil salad was much richer and brought out more phenolic/waxy notes plus pineapple and grapefruit.
So while we thought this was a good pairing all around, the lentil salad really was the winning match of the day to have some nice richness to offset the acidic kick of the wine.
Score: 3 / 5
We'd buy a glass of this one.
If a high acid, flavorful white wine is what you seek that will likely pair with a large spectrum of dishes, Marco de Bartoli's Vignaverde is hard to beat. This one hits all of the notes we love about a Grillo while being young and vibrant, and for that, we'd be more than happy to have a glass at any time.
Marco de Bartoli is located at Contrada Fornara-Samperi, 292 in Marsala, IT. We purchased this bottle in Sicily and enjoyed it in 2024.Â
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