Tenuta Carretta Airali Alta Langa Metodo Classico Pas Dosé 2020
Incredible Piemonte Bubbles! Under $30!!!
Retail
Why We Love It...
Piedmont, as you know, is on every wine lover’s lips. The area is known for the three famous B’s: Barolo, Barbaresco, and the grape, barbera. But with the precision of the sparkling wine that comes out of this Alta Langhe area of Piedmont, it may in the future be known as a place for exceptional sparkling wine of great value. Tenuta Carretta has 7.5 hectares of pinot and chardonnay vines that grow on loamy limestone marl soils. The cool climate coupled with stony soil are ideal for Champagne varieties and excellent sparkling wine production. Resulting wines are fresh with vibrant acidity.
In 1990, the Alta Langa region took notice of their exceptional and uniquely suited terroir to try to demarcate their area as Progetto Spumante, a great region for traditional method sparkling wine production. It took about 10 years, but the area in Piedmont, with a subsequent name change of the sparkling method to Tradizione Spumante, became Piedmont Metodo Classico. Then, the final name just became Alta Langa, denoting the elevation from which the grapes grow.
The Airali Pas Dose is composed of 100% pinot noir and whole cluster pressed. It sat for 36 months on the lees. Note that this is a vintage wine, or millesime, to express the personality of the individual harvests. The wine is golden yellow with a fine mousse, with aromas of toasty bread, honey and dried figs. The palate is savory and sophisticated, with a stone-fruited character, some rich, iron ore, and those autolytic, bread-y notes showing up again. I like Champagne, but this is a spectacular alternative for when Champagne is not available or feasible for the wallet. It’s under $30 and a perfect entree to the holiday season!
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Tenuta Carretta