2022 Passito di Pantelleria Ben Rye
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
A blend of both fresh grapes and dried passito Zibibbo grapes is used to make this singular expression of sweet wine from Pantelleria. A golden/orange color, the 2022 Ben Ryé (an Arabic term meaning “Son of the Wind”) boasts outstanding complex notes of orange marmalade, toasted spice, candied grapefruit, smoky earth, and sea spray. The palate is medium to full, with savory notes and hints of nuttiness, while remaining fresh and pure, with a long finish and lasting glycerol-richness. Drink 2025-2065.
Critic scores
Average Score
Richard Hemming MW, jancisrobinson.com
Richard Hemming MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
Full half-bottle 805 g. Burnt sugar, with raisined aromas (which is hardly surprising from a passito), cinnamon and clove, thick and unctuous on the palate with the most delicious preserved-orange-peel flavour lingering. Plenty of acid to avoid clamminess. Outstanding. (RH)
Burnished amber colour. Dried grapes, rose petal, honey, jasmine, and a rusty sort of ferrous complexity on the palate. Luscious and thick, like a sweater. Long, complex finish with the dried-grape fruit persisting. (RH)
Burnt blood orange, autumnal spices, candied ginger, dried nectarines and a lifting hint of mint create a kaleidoscopic bouquet as the 2022 Ben Ryé blossoms in the glass. Weighty and velvety in feel yet remarkably fresh, it floods the palate with masses of tropical citrus, mango and papaya, all supported by a core of zesty acidity. The 2022 finishes with dramatic length and concentration. A peach nectar resonance and savory spices linger on and on. The 2022 is sure to join the ranks of the best vintages of Ben Ryé. It finished at 200 grams per liter of residual sugar.