David’s “Special Italian Wine” – July 10
Each month, David Brenner of Villasfor2 in Abruzzo selects a delicious Special Italian Wine for you to drink and enjoy at home – or in your Abruzzo villa for two !
Pecorino Frizzante, Terre di Chieti IGT. NV. Cantina Colle Moro
Rose Veneto Frizzante 'Duca della Rocca' IGT. NV. Colombara
Let's once and for all debunk the dictum that when it comes to 'special' wine, the higher the price, the better the quality.
This month we have a bottle of one of the best summer wines you're ever going to find at a scandalously low €1.45; and a bottle of the best Italian sparkling wine I've ever tasted, at a princely €4.
We discovered the sparkler on the last weekend in May, when wineries across Abruzzo open their doors and invite you in to have a look round; sample their wines; and enjoy a few nibbles.
At the Cantina Colle Moro in nearby Frisa, we were offered a taste of a wine introduced only this year, a sparkling Pecorino.
Now, as we've mentioned here before, the Pecorino grape is an old Abruzzo heritage variety, rescued from the brink of extinction in the mid-90's.
Happily, we're right in the middle of its production area and the still white has not only become a firm personal favorite, but has also replaced Trebbiano as our 'house white' that you'll find waiting for you on your arrival for a Villasfor2 holiday.
But a sparkling variety ? Using the 'Charmat Method' – in which a natural sparkle to the wine is developed in a tank, rather than, (as with champagne), in a bottle – Cantina Colle Moro have with brilliant success transformed their pretty good still Pecorino into an absolutely outstanding fizzer.
Unlike Prosecco, which at its best from the Vadobbiadene – Conegliano area of the Veneto is a wine of lightness and delicacy, Colle Moro's Pecorino Frizzante is rich and full-bodied, not a million miles away in taste from a Pinot Noir-laden champagne.
There are other similarities. A yeastiness on the nose of fresh-baked brioche and a long, dry, tingly and almost spicy finish.
Absolutely vice-free and absolutely delicious.
The only thing that made me blink was the crown cap closure – rather like a bottle of Coke. But I guess it's a logical extension to the screw cap. Regard it as a conversation piece rather than a deal-breaker.
And if that's good, wait till you taste the rose frizzante sold under the Duca della Rocca brand.
From the Colombara co-op based in the small town of Cazzano just to the west of Venice, this is a mongrel of an IGT wine containing heaven-knows-what varieties which, due to the angelic skills of a blender, have been transformed into the ultimate summer gulper.
There's not even the tiniest hint of the mean, thin, sharpness you might expect from a wine this cheap. Nor of an excess dosage of sugar to mask its deficiencies.
Instead, there's a riot of strawberries, raspberries, cherries and redcurrants, beautifully dry and silky, cascading into your glass in a fun, frothy, pink cascade that's utterly beguiling. And at only 10.5%, it won't leave you feeling sandbagged on even the most scorching summer's day.
€1.45 ? Yes, €1.45. Silly, isn't it ?
Both this month's recommendations can happily be drunk on their own, or with any light summer food. Both are extraordinarily good and I recommend them to you.
At A Glance…
- This month's 'Special Italian Wines': Pecorino Frizzante, Terre di Chieti & 'Duca della Roca' Rose Veneto
- Vintage: Both NV
- Designation: Both IGT
- Grape: Pecorino is 100% Pecorino; Rose Veneto blend is not stated
- Strength: Pecorino – 12%; Rose Veneto – 10.5%
- Closures: Pecorino – Crown cap; Rose Veneto – Cork
- Producers: Pecorino – Cantina Colle Moro; Rose Veneto – Colombara
- Website: www.collemoro.it
- These bottles cost: Pecorino – €4; Veneto Rose – €1.45
Next Month…
From Umbria, we sample Sagrantino di Montefalco, a much-praised DOCG red from one of the region's best producers. It's a wine you'll enjoy drinking at home – and in your Abruzzo villa for two !
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