This is very dry Prosecco with great purity and frankness; the aromas are of apple, acacia flowers, white peach with an interesting mineral twist and subtle yeastiness.
“A lovely light refreshing sparkling wine with lean pineapple fruits and a crisp dry finish..” John Wilson
This Prosecco is a gem; a blend of 95% Glera (until 2009, known as plain old Prosecco) along with some Verdiso, Bianchetta and Perera. It is one of the few made where the second fermentation takes place in the bottle. Harvest, all by hand, is usually between the last week of September and the first week of October. In April the wine is bottled without the addition of yeast and sugar, subsequently the indigenous yeast contained in the wine starts a second spontaneous fermentation that lasts for approximately four weeks. After this the wine spends a further four weeks ‘sur lie’. The process of disgorgement is not practised, therefore the yeasts are still present in the bottle… any cloudiness is entirely natural.
CASA COSTE PIANE, Santo Stefano
Casa Coste Piane is a tiny 6-ha estate in Santo Stefano, in the heart of the Valdobbiadene area, owned and run by Loris & Sandra Follador, and their children Adelchi and Raffaele. Coste Piane was founded by his grandfather; in those days, sparkling wine from the village was made in the ancestral method, completely dry, the tradition of the area. Loris has always worked the vineyards organically and made wine naturally.
The organically-run vineyards lie on slopes which vary between 250 m and 400 m above sea-level and are close to the cellar. The vines are on average 60 years old (with some much older and pre-phylloxera!!) and their roots can grow up to 30-40 metres long. His family had vines on the steep hillsides when the flat areas of the valley were still pastureland. The vineyards of Coste Piane are very steep and the soil is very shallow, hitting solid limestone or sandstone rock in a few centimeters. The 60 years and older vines are planted in high pergola on steep hillsides. The Folladors are well aware of this fortunate legacy and treat it with the reverence and respect it deserves. No herbicides, pesticides or fertilizers are used. It’s impossible to plow here, but it’s really not necessary with vines of this age; they’ve long ago found their sources deep within the stone formation deep below. The focus on the vinification and the cellar work is to express, as simply and directly as possible, the minerality terroir of these vines.