Gatti ‘Bolle Bandite’ Prosecco Colfondo

Region: Treviso < Veneto < Italy
Grapes: Prosecco (not Glera, as is most Prosecco)
Vineyard/Cellar Stats: Biodynamic farming, clay/sand/limestone soils, 30ppm added SO2 Winemaker: Carolina Gatti

This is like no other Prosecco you’ve tasted – we’ve got the 2012 vintage and it was just released, because Carolina’s process takes 3 years! Rather than a simple fermentation in a big steel vat, typical for Prosecco, this wine is aged three years, then undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle using its own frozen must to start that process. Vines are trained in traditional training system called “Bellussera”, which looks like connected trees. A base wine is created with native yeast in 2012 and the frozen must from the same vintage is saved to start the secondary fermentation. Because Carolina works so naturally, the base wine needs time to evolve and naturally lose any imperfections like reduction. So she holds her wine a few years before secondary fermentation, during which time it picks up complexity. In 2015 Carolina revitalized the frozen must and added it the base wine of 2012, starting a natural re-fermentation in the bottle. She doesn’t disgorge, so the lees remain in the bottle and make it a bit cloudy. It’s a complex wine, with gentle bubbles, some apple, citrus and melon. Definitely not the Prosecco for bottomless mimosas or your book club winos. Share with some adventurous friends.