92pts Vinous

Wonderfully spicy, the 2023 Rosa is a pretty pale pink color with a bouquet of lime-infused green apples and hints of confectionery spice. It opens with a pretty inner sweetness that gives way to vivid white pear and zests of orange. A core of vibrant acidity maintains fantastic energy within. This cleans up beautifully, crisp and refreshing with a salty flourish—a fantastic rendition of Donnafugata's Rosa, despite the difficulties of the vintage.

90pts Wine Enthusiast

The nose has savory aromas of tarragon, seashells and potting soil, but also the sweetness of ultraripe cherry tomatoes and delicate citrus blossoms. The palate is cohesive, with more earth and brine, and then sweet, mature apricots and wild strawberries.

90pts James Suckling

A super-salty and savory wine with aromas of strawberries, jasmine, white peaches and broom flowers. It’s light-bodied and silky on the palate, with moderate acidity and strawberry candy flavors.

Winery Description

In 1983, the experienced winegrowing couple Giacomo and Gabriella Rallo decided to invest in a new Sicilian project that they called “Donnafugata.” Their vision was to create a contemporary winegrowing operation based around three sites in western Sicily and to produce a range of international and indigenous variety wines to showcase the potential of Sicily.

Today the estate is comprised of an historic family cellar in Marsala that dates back to 1851, a 667-acre estate at Contessa Entellina planted to a diverse range of grapes, and a third cellar on the volcanic island of Pantelleria, where Donnafugata cultivates 168 acres of Zibibbo vineyards. The company employs state-of-the-art, sustainable viticulture techniques at all three estates for wines of the highest quality.

At Donnafugata, stewardship of the environment is taken as seriously as the production of wine. The winery was one of the first wineries in Italy to produce all of its electricity from solar energy, taking advantage of the bountiful Sicilian sunshine, and in 2015 the island of Pantelleria was given UNESCO certification recognizing its unique vine training method.

The name Donnafugata refers to the novel by Tomasi di Lampedusa entitled Il Gattopardo (The Leopard). A name that means “donna in fuga” (woman in flight) and refers to the story of a queen who found refuge in the part of Sicily where the company’s vineyards are located today.