By David Ellis from vintnews.
An interesting and rewarding sparkling out of Italy that’s quite fruity yet at the same time nicely soft and dry, is Carpene Malvolti’s Prosecco 1868 Extra Dry, and which sells here for a very agreeable $25 a bottle.
Founded in 1868 in Italy’s Veneto region by Antonio Carpene, the company became the first in Italy to submit traditional still wines made from Prosecco grapes to the sparkling process; over the ensuing 146 years the company’s been handed down from father to son and still remains firmly in Carpene family hands today.
Fruit for this bubbly, that’s equally at home in the party-room and at the table, came from the picturesque Conegliano and Valdobbiadene hills of Veneto, and was produced under the Charmat method in which the wine goes through secondary fermentation in bulk tanks and bottled under pressure; it is fruity, extra dry and aromatic, with strong hints of apple on the palate and bouquet.
Perfect as an aperitif, a party-room bubbly or at the table with light Mediterranean dishes – it’s very popular in its home region to share it with an octopus and potato salad – it is also equally at home mixed into cocktails with the likes of cranberry or orange juice, lemon-lime-and- soda, and a host of others.
One to note: Peter Logan has come up with a great drop in his recently-released 2012 Logan Weemala Shiraz Viognier that’s got a lovely silky palate of red berries, plums, bay and tarragon and a nice long finish – and as we know, the longer the finish (the time the flavour lasts in your mouth) the finer the quality of that wine.
Peter grew fruit for this one at Mudgee 600m up in the Central Ranges of NSW, an area that produces reds with uniquely rustic characteristics and usually stronger savoury elements than most other regions, and which are recognised for strong acid, tight tannin structure and generous flavours.
At $19 this is a good-value lip-smacker to enjoy with cold-weather favourites such as Beef Wellington or a hearty steak and kidney pie.
