Each month, David Brenner of Villasfor2 in Abruzzo recommends a ‘Special Italian Wine’ for you to try and enjoy at home – or on your Abruzzo holiday.

Prosecco di Valdobbiadene, 'Le Casere'. DOC. DVS Co-Op

Prosecco di Valdobbiadene, Superiore di Cartizze, 'Tenimenti Dogali'. DOC. MVS Co-Op

This month – a taste test between two bottles of Prosecco. Yes. I know. Tough gig. The things I go through for this blog…

On the left is a top-quality bottle of Prosecco DOC from Valdobbiadene, the wine's best production region in the Veneto. It cost €4.75. On the right is an ultra-top-quality bottle of Prosecco DOC. It comes from the Cartizze area of Valdobbiadene. A kind of 'Grand Cru'. It cost €12.83. What we aim to discover is if it's really that much better…

First, a little history. Prosecco is Italy's most widely-drunk sparkling white. It can be produced either from 100% Prosecco grape; or can contain up to 10% of Verdiso.

It's widely produced throughout Italy, but the real-deal DOC bottles come from the Valdobbiadene-Conegliano area to the north-west of Venice. Within the comune of Valdobbiadene itself is the Cartizze region – a patch of only around 250 acres based on three small villages. Here, 100-odd growers produce the Prosecco grapes that get turned into Prosecco Superiore di Cartizze. 

We know the 'ordinary' Le Casere very well. After 18 months-worth of trial-and-error, it's become our regular Prosecco of choice. It's deliciously dry, bubbly and light with subtle hints of peach, apricot and almond. And at €4.75 a bottle, it's fantastic value.

Sunday just wouldn't be Sunday without a bottle. Or in this case, two.

First thing I noticed that the Superiore di Cartizze was just a slight shade darker in the glass than Le Casere. Straw as opposed to sun-dried hay. A difference on the nose too. The same peaches, apricots and almonds as in Le Casere, but in abundance.

The real difference came in the taste. Prosecco di Cartizze is held in some quarters to be just a sweet wine. But to confuse the incredible richness and opulence crammed into this bottle, and the resulting endless depth of fruit and finish in the glass with sweetness is simply muddled thinking.

Despite all this bosomy vinous excellence, the Superiore di Cartizze is actually a notch less strong than Le Casere – though that's hardly a crucial factor as they're both as light as a helium-filled hummingbird.

But the big question of course concerns whether Superiore di Cartizze really is €8.08 better than Le Casere ?

Actually…yes. It is. That's not to say that Le Casere in any way inferior. Nor that I'd now want to drink this Superiore di Cartizze at every available opportunity.

It's just that of its type, it's a terrifically good wine and that there'll be times – hopefully when someone else is paying – when I'll appreciate it and enjoy it in exactly the same way I intend to go on appreciating and enjoying Le Casere.

Drink both cold – but not ice-cold – as an aperitif. Or whenever really. Neither goes particularly well with food – though ripe strawberries present an intriguing possibility and of course mixed with a pulped-up white peach, Prosecco is the other half of that classic and decadent cocktail the Bellini.  Prosecco this good – and I'm talking both bottles here – is made to sip and enjoy on its own. As you'll discover on your Abruzzo holiday !

At A Glance…

• This month's 'Special Italian Wine' – Prosecco di Valdobbiadene, Le Casere; Prosecco di Valdobbiadene, Superiore di Cartizze, Tenimenti Dogali. (In this instance you can almost ignore the brand names as something of an irrelevance, as the real key is where these wines come from – not what they're called. You'd be unlucky to come across a bad bottle of 'ordinary' Prosecco Valdobbiadene (or Conegliano) DOC – and both unlucky and unlikely to come across a bad bottle of the Superiore di Cartizze.)
• Vintage: Both NV. Prosecco's best drunk young.
• Producer: CVS and MVS Co-Ops respectively
• Designation: Both DOC
• Grape: Both 100% Prosecco
• Strength: Le Casere – 11.5%; Superiore di Cartizze – 11%
• Closure: Both cork-and-wire
• The bottle of Le Casere cost €4.75; the Superiore di Cartizze was €12.83. In their way, both are bargains.

Next Month…

Join us for a glass of southern Italy's new superstar DOCG white. It's called Fiano di Avellino; it comes from Campania; and the bottle we're tasting is from perhaps the region's finest producer. We're going to find out whether the reality matches the reviews…

This entry was posted on Friday, March 20th, 2009 at 4:24 am and is filed under Eating and Drinking, Special Italian Wine, Vineyards. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.