The Raccolta Newsletter, 4/6/04

[Craig Camp]

The choice is not which is better, Champagne, Cava or Prosecco, but which is better for the moment and, of course the budget. Prosecco is a fruit driven wine and it is the quality of the fruit flavors that define the best wines from this region. These easy fruit flavors make Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene the perfect choice when you are looking for refreshment and one of the best of choices for brunch - Easter or not.

Click here for 2003 Bellenda Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene, Brut

[Marco_Polo]

Hi Craig, thanks for the reminder of what an enjoyable wine Prosecco can be. I adore it! It is a gorgeous wine and you are quite right, charm and easy drinking is what it is all about. The grape has a soft, creamy fruit that is most attractive and the charmat method of secondary fermentation definitely preserves and possibly enhances something of its delicate pear-drop fragrance. Prosecco seems at its best with just a touch of sweetness, a sparkling wine that is mercifully never overly aggressive or acidic. Here are some recent tasting notes:

Prosecco Carpenè Malvolti Pale, fine mousse, luscious melony nose and deliciously creamy fruit: this well-made Prosecco from the zone’s leading winery is something of a benchmark.

Prosecco Carpenè Malvolti Cuvée Brut Very fresh and fragrant; a little yeasty, invigoratingly crisp and zingy with a nice citrus finish.

Prosecco Santo Stefano Ruggeri Dry Fresh, vigorous mousse; intensely fragrant pear drop nose; creamy, rich, with a soft, lightly sweet finish.

Prosecco Ca’ Rosa Extra Dry Pale, persistent bubbles; green apple and pear nose; elegant and cleansing finish.

Prosecco Le Colture Pianer Extra Dry An excellent traditional Prosecco: beautiful creamy fruit with clean, refreshing aromas of green apple and lime; attractive crisp, citrussy finish.

Le Colture Cartizze Made from grapes grown on the steeper and well-exposed slopes of the Cartizze sub-zone: intensely fruity, redolent of ripe peaches and dried apricots; a rich, but gently soft texture. The bubbles seem to intensify the ripe, clean fruit so that it just explodes in your mouth.

[Craig Camp]

Marco_Polo,

Thanks for the great notes. Cartizze is indeed special. What do these wines go for in the UK?

[Marco_Polo]

What do these wine go for in the UK?

Hi Craig, I don't have the exact prices for these wines as they were sent to me as samples. However, generally Prosecco is available here for under a tenner with good wines at around the £7.50 mark. Remember, here fully sparkling wines attract outrageously high duty coupled with 17.5% VAT (I think the duty alone works out at something like £1.70 per bottle). Frizzante Prosecco (with corks sometimes 'tied' down with string in the rustic manner) can be considerably cheaper, not least because of the lesser duty. There is also plenty of horribly cheap and nasty stuff sloshing around.

Marc

[futronic]

Thanks, Craig. More great reading.

I posted a TN on another Prosecco di Conegliano (from Zardetto) a little while ago.

Zardetto Prosecco di Conegliano

Very tasty stuff. Unfortunately, it's quite difficult to get a good Prosecco here in Ontario.

[Craig Camp]

The Zardetto is a very nice wine usually at a VERY nice price. However it does not have quite the depth of wines like Col Vetoraz or Bellenda. However you will have to pay several dollars more a bottle for them than the still very charming Zardetto. They were selling that wine at Cost Plus for $7 US - very tasty wine at that price.

[futronic]

Unfortunately we don't get those other producers here, Craig. Perhaps I'll drink some during my trip and bring a bottle back.