Barone di Villagrande strikes a classic expression in this dessert wine from the heart of the Mediterranean. The 2017 Malvasia delle Lipari Passito (in a 500-milliliter bottle) flaunts its air-dried, or passito, personality with a lovely mix of dried apricot, honey and baked apple. This was a very hot vintage across southern Italy, and the wine shows extra thickness, ripeness and concentration as a result. Indeed, the appassimento style used here has definitely absorbed the summer heat; this is reflected in the wine's deep golden color and the slightly more oxidative style of the bouquet. I would also venture that the wine's acidic footprint, or that impression of freshness you need in a great dessert wine, is underserved in 2017.