The slopes of the Cartizze cru in the Prosecco DOCG (above) are so steep that they have to be worked by hand. Villa Sandi makes its Prosecco DOCG Cartizze using fruit sourced from its own rows in the designation together with grapes it obtains thanks to its longstanding, generational relationships with family growers there.
Here’s what Monica Larner had to say about Villa Sandi’s Prosecco DOCG Cartizze in her latest review of the winery for Robert Parker (Wine Advocate). Technical info for the wine follows below.
I remember how excited the folks at Villa Sandi were when they finally bought a tiny parcel of land in the precious Cartizze cru a few years back. These vineyard parcels almost never come on the market. The NV Valdobbiadene Superiore di Cartizze Dry is a soft and luscious sparkler with sweet, foamy effervescence that fills the palate. The wine is made in a Dry style and there is a noticeable touch of sweetness that comes forward as honeydew melon and passion fruit. This Cartizze is feathery light and weightless in texture.
Monica Larner
Robert Parker/Wine Advocate
*****
VALDOBBIADENE SUPERIORE DI CARTIZZE D.O.C.G.
This wine is light hay yellow in color, with fine and lingering bubbles. On the nose, it’s intensely fruity with marked notes of ripe golden apple, tropical fruit salad, and citrus. On the nose, the wine delivers lingering notes of acacia flower. On the palate, it’s fresh and delicately sweet, with fine bubbles that release smooth, fruity notes.
CLASSIFICATION Sparkling wine (spumante), controlled origin designation, Dry.
PRODUCTION AREA A small hilltop area in the D.O.C.G. covering 106 hectares of vineyard in the hamlets of Santo Stefano and San Pietro di Barbozza (both in Valdobbiadene township). A genuine single-vineyard bottling (cru) that is born thanks to the perfect combination of ideal microclimate and ancient morainic, sandstone, and clay subsoils.
TRAINING SYSTEM Double-arched Guyot with 2,500 vines per hectare.
MAXIMUM YIELD 12 tons per hectare.
HARVEST PERIOD Second ten days of September.
VINIFICATION The whole berries are transferred to a pneumatic press and the must is obtained using soft pressing. After initial racking, the must is transferred into temperature-controlled tanks where it remains until it will be transformed into sparkling wine.
PRODUCTION Once Villa Sandi’s selected yeasts have been added to the must, fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled tanks at 15-16° C. This allows the winemaker to focus all of the harvest’s aromas. Once the desired alcohol and residual sugar levels have been obtained, fermentation is arrested by lowering the temperature. After a short aging period, the sparkling wine is ready to be bottled.
PAIRINGS A versatile sparkling wine that can be served at the beginning and end of the meal with equal success. Ideal with marinated reef fish or with salmon tartare. It can also be served with moderately sweet leavened desserts.
IDEAL SERVING TEMPERATURE 6-8° C.
TECHNICAL INFO alcohol 11% residual sugar 31 grams/liter acidity 5.7 grams/liter