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Masottina Prosecco Brut NV, Veneto, Italy 75cl

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Pale green. Crisp lemony nose, very clean. The palate has a little touch of sweetness, with a fresh, pithy lemon acidity that leaves it dry and moreish. 86

Instantly defined and distinctive, with bold orchard fruits, and lots of tang and lemony zip. But there is subtle minerality here too, playing against the sweetness of the wine and the fruit. Lovely length and definition. 89

Extra Dry (12 – 20 g/l)

Finally, we had a raft of rosés, as we assessed the quality of producers now making pink Prosecco, since the authorisation to do so in the DOC came in late 2020. These proved to be a delicious addition to the category, with the cherry fruit from the Pinot Noir red wine used to give these Proseccos their colour – usually a pale salmon pink – adding a complementary characteristic to the base wines made with the Glera grape.

These simpler styles of Prosecco wines indicate that, while the overall level of quality is good, not all Proseccos are created equal, so a level of attention in selection is required. Youthful age guarding the freshness is always relevant for these DOC wines. Most of these wines are produced in an Extra Dry style, with around 12g/l-17g/l residual sugar, which suits the peachy fruit flavour well. These are easy-drinking, crowd-pleasing wines, perfect for a spring day among the daffodils and cherry trees. From the single vineyard monopole Giardino this has 20g/l of sugar, and a fresh fruit salad nose with melon and pear and just a a hint of more exotic peach and mango. The palate is basically dry and fresh, the cool, quite mineral acidity slices through a peach down fruitiness and ripeness. 89/100 The nose of the Extra Dry is slightly brighter with more of a pear and lemon sherbet note, but invitingly fresh. The palate is not apparently sweeter, but has a freshness and a really racy acidity that pushes through. Delightful too, with a more floral and precocious character. 89/100 What: La Gioiosa’s process involves freezing the grapes to zero degrees immediately after they are squeezed. Taste the benefits of this method in a bouquet of fresh white flowers, pears and stone fruits.

Dry (17-35 g/l)

Glera grapes at harvest in Masottina’s Contrada Granda vineyard, Ogliano Americans drink a lot of Prosecco, nearly four million caseseach year,withannual growth in the middouble digits. Most of it is simple stuff, colorless and lightly citrusy—butsparkling, at least. We reveal the medal-winning brands from this year’s Prosecco Masters, which comprised all styles and quality levels of this popular Italian fizz, and saw both Extra Brut and Extra Dry samples gain top scores, along with a couple of rosés too. Then there was further variation with source area, with, in particular, the Proseccos from all the DOCGs proving especially fine. Among these, it was the samples from the smaller area of Asolo that stood out for their powerful aromatics and ripe yellow fruit flavours, compensating for the fact that these wines tend to be a bit drier than their equivalents from Conegliano and Valdobbiadene. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, 30% fermented in new barrels, then a minimum of five years before release. Big, vanilla and cappuccino nose, with a clean, rounded fruitiness beneath. The palate is also quite full, rich and full in a convincing, Champagne-like sytle. 89/100

Merlot. Combination of big Slavonian botti and French barrique, from 16-year-old vineyards on limestone and clay. Quite a lot of incense and smoky aromatics, with some rer berry fruits and savoury, briary notes. The palate has a slightly leathery quality. 87/100 Notes on six Masottina sparklers are below. Only three are imported, but I’ve included them all to show what Prosecco in the right hands can do.

The medallists: Prosecco DOC Rosé

Confusingly, Extra Dry Prosecco has more sugar than Brut, making it feel rounder, fleshier, and more floral. Here, gingered petals, spicy herbs, and a glittery mid-palateadd levity.

If one considers that Prosecco has increased in production volumes by tenfold in the past 15 years, from around 60 million bottles to more than 600m today, its remarkable how the fizz has reached such a scale while retaining its appealing combination of clean, aromatic peach and pear flavours, with a touch of sweetness, offset by a zesty edge.As for the issue of diversity, there seems to be a broadening of Prosecco styles, with successful results among the differing profiles. In terms of sugar levels, Prosecco does seem to best suit an ‘extra dry’ sweetness (12g-17g/l), with around 13g-15g/l being optimal to fill out the mid-palate without tasting saccharine. However, there appears to be a rising number of Brut and even Extra Brut Proseccos coming on to the market, offering a slightly sharper drinking experience, but, due to the use of fine, ripe fruit, a taste that isn’t too hard. Does this really matter and is it a good barometer of quality? Not really in my opinion, but it can be used lightly. The Masottina Prosecco may only be a DOC but it’s drinking right alongside, if not better than its Kirkland counterpart.Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Marzemino. Nice gamy nose, with wild garrique, aromatics and plenty of cedary, pencil shaving oak. The palate is mature and sweet, and has lovely coffee and dark berry fruit, in a resolved, harmonious palate. 91/100 Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc with Merlot. Aged six months in French oak. Massively oaky and green nose: heavy charry character, emphasised by being served a touch warm. Dark berry fruit is rather buried, but does come through with a cassis depth, the slightly resinous oak still slightly problematic for me, but lots of coffeeish warmth. 88/100

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