WTN: Finally, a Prosecco that's more-ish

[Jenise]

NV Bocelli Prosecco Glera
Don't usually like Prosecco but I love this one. Delightfully dry and expressive. Positively joyful in fact--triggers endorphins on a sunny afternoon. $17 locally; I might buy more.

'Delightfully dry' … but how dry?

Nearly all Prosecco sold here is Extra Dry , which as we know is not dry at all and is probably the reason why Prosecco has become so popular here.

There is some Brut Prosecco here, which is what I buy, but you have to look for it. (and then there are the quality classifications - Conegliano Valdobbiadene and Cartizze.

There are many variations in style, quality and, especially, pricing with Prosecco. So, when you find one you like, keep buying it!

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Glera grapes in Valdobbiadene

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Valdobbiadene hills

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I have found that Prosecco under the Conegliano and/or Valdobbiadene designations have a lot more depth to them. I regard them as almost a different beast from the generic Prosecco designation. And I now have a craving for said beast.

[Jenise]

Peter, this one's obviously a Brut though I don't believe the bottle, or at least front label, claims that, as a celebrity brand maybe it thinks it doesn't have to? (Yes, Andrea Bocelli). And Ryan, it's from Valdobbiadene.

[Jenise]

So I went to toss out the bottle and guess what, joke's on me, it claims to be an Extra Dry. Would never have TOUCHED it based on that, but was poured it at a tasting and liked it a lot. Bought three, and this was the first I've opened. Liked it even better than I did at the tasting--no way it drinks like anything less than a Brut. But I'll probably never risk it again, lest the next batch be otherwise.

Tricky blighter is Pepo Prosecco.There's spread of RS allowed in categories, perhaps this Extra Dry is at the driest end of the range -- but it doesn't matter as long as it hits your sweet spot.

As it's a NV I'd assume the team behind it is aiming for a house style and future bottlings will be the same.

I found there's a lot of variation in Prosecco. But most sold here in UK are priced less than half what you paid; they're sweetish, cheap and bubbly and that's all the supermarket customers want.

[Jenise]

Precisely why I generally avoid them. I'd have never sought out this wine.

If I want bubbly, there are better options for my tastes even at this price, like from Spain.

Olivier McCrum usually says he prefers Extra Dry to Brut, thinking I believe prosecco is best when it's not trying to be Champagne. My guess within every style there is a wide variety of quality (and whatever Oliver brings in is likely top rate)/

[Jenise]

Interesting perspective, and something to keep me more open-minded than I would have been not knowing that. As I said, compared to the bridal-shower proseccos I'm usually exposed to, this one was a huge step up in quality.

Olivier McCrum usually says he prefers Extra Dry to Brut, thinking I believe prosecco is best when it's not trying to be Champagne. My guess within every style there is a wide variety of quality (and whatever Oliver brings in is likely top rate)/

Hi Dale, thanks for the compliment, that means a lot coming from such an informed drinker!

Extra Dry in Champagne means 'bad, case-stacked in grocery stores at the end of the year.' Extra Dry in quality Prosecco means very nearly the opposite; in my experience the best Proseccos, such as those from the Cartizze hillside, are usually Extra Dry, indeed sometimes they are Dry (ie sweeter). I started with the prejudice against Extra Dry, but as I tasted the different examples of Brut and Extra Dry side-by-side at Vinitaly I came to realize that the Extra Dry examples were more generous, whereas the Bruts came across a pinched by comparison. Extra Dry is the traditional dosage in the region, and I only import Extra Dry, as I prefer it. (I drink extremely dry Champagne whenever I can, so this isn't a general preference.)

Mind you, my Extra Dry (Sorelle Bronca) is probably 14 g/L, which is right at the cusp of Brut and could be labelled as either, given the fudge factor in the EU rules. I find Extra Dry wines show much more of the pear and apple aromas that make the wine so beguiling, and those from the better sites have enough acidity to balance the RS.

The other crucial point about Prosecco is that it has to be drunk fresh, IME this is true of all Cuve Close wines. Check your lot numbers.

Interesting perspective, and something to keep me more open-minded than I would have been not knowing that. As I said, compared to the bridal-shower proseccos I'm usually exposed to, this one was a huge step up in quality.

There is so much awful Prosecco out there, makes me shudder to think of it. And bad sparkling wine is somehow worse than bad wine wine.

I was inspired to have a Prosecco aperitif this evening in fact, cheers! Cin Cin!

Just announced - Pink Prosecco !

Just to expand on what Ryan noted- some Prosecco being totally different beasts.
It is unfortunate that most consumers recognize Prosecco , if I may borrow Jenise term, as "bridal Shower fizz". To call this stuff just "awful" I thimk is a little strech, six hundred million bottles of Prosecco was sold, soneone likes it. Must admit, at a fanily BBQ, at my older sisters houe or neice's house a bottle or two of Prosecco would be in the ice chest. For me just a quality, commercially produced delightful, pleasnt fizz. On most of these occasions I would show up with a bottle fernented Prosecco, Col Fondo Prosecco, or Tradition method produced Prosecco. Both my sister amd niece couldn't believe these wines were Prosecco.

Salute