Masottina Prosecco Rose Brut, 750 ml

Product Information

A touch of herbs and of pear. A gentle, toffee character on the palate, with a hint of soft, sweet fruit and a slightly fading, indistinct finish. 85 Extra Dry (12 – 20 g/l) There is a distinctive rise in quality and interest when one looks at Superiore DOCG wines, as our 2023 Gold and Master medal-winners show. These wines, which come from the caldera and rolling hills in the heart of Treviso around Conegliano-Valdobbiadene and Asolo, are sensationally delicious. This is a big, creamy, fruity wine, with abundant ripe citrus, peach nectar, and candied grapefruit and orange peel. It’s an aperitif wine that dal Bianco suggested pairing with fish or mushroom risotto. Subtle, steely, almost ozone-like salty minerality. Quite distinctive, with a little toffee quality coming through. The palate has good sweetness, and a ripe, almost buttery note, but a really fresh finish. A complex Prosecco this. 90 Again, the Extra Dry version of this wine is sweeter, yielding a richer, creamier flavor on its gingery mousse. They’re otherwise the same wine, but Masottinamakes both because, said dal Bianco, “People say they want Brut, but they actually want sugar.”

A table wine from the Collii di Conegliano Rizzardo vineyard, the first vintage of which was 1997. It is a blend of Chardonnay, Manzoni, Riesling, Pinot Bianco and Sauviognon Blanc, 50% was aged in barriques, 50% of which were new. Heavily marked by toasty and vanillin oak. Has a fumé Sauvignon character, with some piercing white fruit and great acidity, the nuttiness is subtle and this finishes with cool, Cox’s Pippin fruit acidity. 89/100 A honeyed Moscato withlily of the valley, white peach, nectarine, and dried apricots. Sweet but not syrupy despite the high sugar content. Terrific with honeyed desserts. 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.Raboso, 30% Lagrein. Cherry pink colour. Strawberry Mivvi nose, with a touch of pomegranate. The palate has lovely fruit – more dry, pomegranate and raspberry and a pink grapefruit acidity. Lovely summery stuff. 87/100

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 Dull, slightly metallic nose. More acidity, but the sweet .n. sour character is obvious. Slightly Alka Seltzer. 83 Harvest underway in Contrada Granda NV Masottina Brut Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG Motus Vitae Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Rive di S. Pietro di Barbozza DOCG Extra Brut Grande Cuvée del Fondatore

About the competition

What: If a gold bottle doesn’t give you serious party vibes, we’re not sure what will. While the bottle sets the tone, it’s the contents that will really get guests talking. With a crisp and elegant style, flavour notes here include white peach, hints of citrus and wonderfully refreshing green apple. Serve chilled in coupes for ultimate sophistication.

A blend of Ancellota and Lambrusco Salamino with natural bottle fermentation. It’s dark red and moderately astringent, with suggesions of rosemary, fresh and maceratedstrawberries, banana, and cherry-berry.

The medallists: Prosecco DOC (continued)

The single-vineyard wine is stonier, evenmonumental, with a quiet minerality and savory finish. It’sis a food wine, and dal Bianco suggested pairing it with something delicate, likefish crudo. And while these rosatos had plenty of ripe berry flavours, these weren’t too sweet, ensuring they were pretty, fruity, and refreshing. Fiol and Della Vite proved particularly fine examples, making a pleasing end to the UK’s largest professional tasting of Prosecco. Winery Levels of production have increased dramatically in recent years, and demand, not only in Italy, but especially in the UK and the US, and nowadays also in France, seems to be absorbing the supply. Everyone loves Prosecco. Very pale green. Subtle apple nose. A little waxy note, but all very subtle. On the palate a nice, lively mousse and sour lemon and pear fruit. Good acidity, with a slightly chalky finish that’s a touch metallic. 85/100 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, the fruit and a lemony twist. Lovely length and definition. 90/100

Fabulously attractive pear-drop and floral nose with little peach down notes and touches of herbs. Very fresh on the palate, with lots of lemony bite and cool apple fruit. Very attractive, fairly dances on the tongue. 88/100 Glera is well suited to these hills, to their ancientsoils of marl and clay tinted red withiron oxide. The hillsides aresteep, but the grape itself is not hard to manage.“Glera, because it’s born here, has not so many diseases,” said Masottina winemaker Federico dal Bianco, who, with his twobrothers and father, Adriano, manages production. 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. Fragrant of citrus and yellow peaches steeped inherbs. Its quiet, spumy moussedelivers a pop of acid, fruit, and salt, while snappy notes of freshtarragon and savory and a scattering of mineralsadd dimension. What: For easy drinking you can’t beat this light, crisp bottle which makes a refreshing option for pre-dinner drinks. There’s a subtle sweetness, without it becoming sugary and there isn’t too much fizz either to overpower the palate. An added bonus to this popular serve is that it’s also often on offer for 25% off which represents great value for money.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 A salty, stony wineadorned with yellow citrus rind and pith, peaches, and sweetgrass.Good depth derives from fruit, earth, and herbs.