“The land, the land, the
land, the land, always, the land,” Luigi Veronelli.
Piedmont
Piemonte translates to at the foot of the mountain.
Bordered by both France and Switzerland, Piedmont sits at the foot of the Alps
and is surrounded by mountains on three sides. The highest peaks in Italy are
here. Summers are hot, winters are cold and wet. This is hill country and the
hills are spotted with vineyards. The two best red wine zones in Italy are in
Piedmont: Barolo and Barbaresco. Nebbiolo is its native son. However Nebbiolo represents
only six percent of the total plantings. It is Barbera which is Piedmont’s most
widely planted black grape. Muscat Blanc a Petit Grains, known locally as
Moscato Bianco, is the primary white grape and is second only to Barbera in total acreage. Muscat was one of antiquities most revered and important wines. In Piedmont it has found a new and glorious life as Moscato d’Asti.
Ca del Re
Ca’ del Re is a fourteen
hectare estate in Santo Stefano which along with Castagnole Lanze and Castagnole Tinella are the best villages for
growing Moscato Bianco and producing
Moscato d’Asti wines in Italy. Fabio Perrone is the winemaker. He is
twenty-seven years old, a recent graduate of the enology school in Alba and a
third generation winemaker.
Ca’ del Re which means “House
of the King” is the name of the valley where the farm and vineyards are located.
This valley is referenced on an agricultural map dating to 1648. The fruit
is all estate and all handpicked. Farming practices are sustainable/ organic. The
Moscato Bianco vines average between 20 and 50 years. The vineyards are hillside
vineyards with south exposures ideal for Moscato Bianco which is early
to bud and prone to frost. Late to ripen it
requires a longer growing season.
 |
| The Calcareous Soils of Asti. Photo courtesy of Giuliana Imports. |
Process
Fermentation occurs in
autoclave: a temperature-controlled, pressurized, stainless steel tank. Carbon
dioxide, a byproduct of fermentation, is captured and dissolves in solution. When
the desired alcohol is reached fermentation is arrested by lowering the
temperature of the fermentation vessel. The wine is separated from the yeast
and rests before bottling. Moscato d’Asti wines are frizzante, about 1 atmosphere of pressure. The EU standard for
sparkling wine is minimum 3 bar. The maximum atmospheric pressure in a bottle
of Moscato d’Asti is 1.7 bar. Champagne is usually 5.0 - 6.0 bar or six times
the atmospheric pressure. The lower atmospheres, 1.0 - 1.7, in a bottle of
Moscato d’Asti result in a silky, creamy, texture.
The maximum alcohol for
Moscato d’Asti is 5.5 percent. There is a movement to lower the alcohol even
further in an effort to preserve Moscato’s signature aromatic compounds. This
will be interesting to follow. Moscato d’Asti wines have an effusive and
dazzling personality. The best examples shimmer with apples, pears, banana
flower and citrus.
The finished wine is stored
in autoclave. The Perrone family bottles each order separately and only bottles
when they have an order in hand. This guarantees fresh Moscato throughout the year.
 |
| Image Courtesy of Giuliana Imports |
Moscato Bianco
Muscat, which has its origins in ancient Greece, is one of the world's oldest genetically unmodified vines. It may be the oldest domesticated grape. Early records show it being shipped from the ports of France during Charlemagne's rule, 768-814. It is said Cleopatra drank Muscat.
Muscat is a populous family with over two hundred members. Muscat Blanc a Petit Grains, Italy’s Moscato Bianco also known as Moscato di Canelli, is the well spring, the oldest and noblest of the lineage. This is Piedmont’s oldest documented grape. It was one of the first grapes planted in France.
Muscat Blanc a Petit Grains should not be confused with Muscat of Alexandria. Muscat of Alexandria is the offspring of Muscat Blanc and a black grape variety native to the Greek islands, Axina de Tres Bias. Spanish Moscatel is Muscat of Alexandria as is Sicily’s Zibibbo. Muscat of Alexandria yields large oval berries in a loose cluster. Muscat Blanc has tight clusters of small round berries. Muscat of Alexandria is vigorous, Muscat Blanc is low yielding.
Moscato d’Asti is a wine full of freshness with a heady aromatic of honey, yellow grapes, mango, orange blossom, lavender and rosemary. Below this starry atmosphere is a sea foaming with white peaches, spring flowers, orchard fruits and garden scents, renewed by a fervent and determined acidity. The best bottles are a transport to summer. A savage sap, the dripping ambrosia.
If it isn’t dry, it
isn’t serious. This pale rhetoric is finally
losing its charge. It’s the millenials, ages 21-32, who are tearing down the
walls. Moscato sales in the U.S. increased 80 percent in 2012. Between 2009 and
2011 U.S. sales of Moscato increased over 200 percent. In 2013 Moscato was the
third largest seller in the states. However big brand interests continue to
dominate.
Asti
Asti derives its name from
the Celtic Ast meaning hill. The
hills are the Monferrato hills which extend from Piedmont’s capital city Turin
to the eastern border of Alessandria. The climate of the Monferrato hills is
continental with a Mediterranean influence. The soils are calcareous:
chalk and limestone with a high percentage of sand. Grapes grown on sand, a free draining soil, ripen earlier. Ripening
earlier they retain more acidity. In Asti the best sites are dedicated to
Barbera. In Asti Barbera is king.
Barbera
In Italy Barbera is third
in acreage behind Sangiovese and Montepulciano. At the same time the Super Tuscan’s were
developing, the 1980’s and 1990’s, Barbera was experiencing a similar
transformation. The idea to lower yields, harvest at optimal ripeness, ferment
and then age in small oak barrels, first came to Piedmont in the 1970’s. The
source was legendary French enologist Emile Peynaud. However it would not be
until the next decade that this idea was put into practice.
Barbera is believed to have
originated in the Monferrato hills however this
hypothesis has yet to be validated. Barbera is planted to some of the best
vineyards of the Langhe alongside Nebbiolo but on the less exposed, shadier
aspects, where Nebbiolo will not ripen. Barbera ripens two weeks after Dolcetto
and two weeks before Nebbiolo. One of
Barbera’s defining characteristics is its abnormally high acidity which it is
able to retain even when picked late. Barbera d’Asti was granted DOC status in
1970 and DOCG in 2008.
2012 Ca del Re,
Barbera d’Asti, DOCG
Sourced from old vines 50
to 60 years on average. The fruit is all estate and all hand harvested from hillside
sites with full south exposures. Fermentation occurred in stainless steel as
did elevage. Total aging is ten months: six months in tank and four months in
bottle.
