Happy New Year!
After a three year rest and following the termination of any kind of 9-to-5 style professional life, let's pick up where we left off. That means we need an S, as long as we ignore the only 2016 entry that crept in below. If I had returned to my game in strict adherence to my own unnecessary rules, I would have needed to find a red S to follow the white Rousanne from 27th December 2015 but, as you will see from the title of this week's entry, I have decided to play much faster and looser than before. So, S is for Sparkling.
This seems appropriate as for the festivities to welcome 2019 into the world we had a small celebratory gathering and the sparkling that I chose to mark the occasion was:
Week S (2019) Tesco Finest Franciacorta DOCG NV. Tesco £15.
I have become something of a fan of Franciacorta since first hearing of it when studying for the WSET exams during which time I had read about it as an exotic-sounding Italian alternative to Champagne, but for a long time could not find any to buy. In fact, although I had completed the diploma level unit on sparkling wines in 2011, it was not until 2015 that I chanced upon some in Majestic. That was Berlucchi Cuvee Imperial which I shared with a friend and we were both very impressed.
Since then I have also bought the Rosato version of the same wine, from Umberto's Deli in Thame, and also some excellent Lantieri from the same shop.
I was delighted to see that Tesco had started to import Franciacorta in late 2017 and even more delighted when I asked in the Aylesbury branch if they had any to replenish the empty shelves, to find that it had been put on offer at £13 a bottle!
So what it is all the fuss about? It is a traditional method sparkling wine (don't say 'Champagne Method / Methode Champenoise' or the French will be after you, even if that is what it is) that comes from Lombardy in the North-West of Italy.
The grapes used are a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Nero & Pinot Blanc, the last of these being the only variety not used in Champagne, and they have been selected under strict rules (so Tesco say) and lightly pressed before fermentation in small wooden barrels by the producer, Castel Faglia, who farm 17 hectares of vines in small garden-like plots.
The results are great, especially considering the price tag. A Champagne showing the same crisp flavours, backed with some appealing Brioche tones, as this would cost twice as much.
I look forward to finding more examples of Franciacota, perhaps en-route to the slow food and cheese festival in Bra, Piedmont, later this year and of which I will write more in the coming weeks.
After a three year rest and following the termination of any kind of 9-to-5 style professional life, let's pick up where we left off. That means we need an S, as long as we ignore the only 2016 entry that crept in below. If I had returned to my game in strict adherence to my own unnecessary rules, I would have needed to find a red S to follow the white Rousanne from 27th December 2015 but, as you will see from the title of this week's entry, I have decided to play much faster and looser than before. So, S is for Sparkling.
This seems appropriate as for the festivities to welcome 2019 into the world we had a small celebratory gathering and the sparkling that I chose to mark the occasion was:
Week S (2019) Tesco Finest Franciacorta DOCG NV. Tesco £15.I have become something of a fan of Franciacorta since first hearing of it when studying for the WSET exams during which time I had read about it as an exotic-sounding Italian alternative to Champagne, but for a long time could not find any to buy. In fact, although I had completed the diploma level unit on sparkling wines in 2011, it was not until 2015 that I chanced upon some in Majestic. That was Berlucchi Cuvee Imperial which I shared with a friend and we were both very impressed.
Since then I have also bought the Rosato version of the same wine, from Umberto's Deli in Thame, and also some excellent Lantieri from the same shop.
I was delighted to see that Tesco had started to import Franciacorta in late 2017 and even more delighted when I asked in the Aylesbury branch if they had any to replenish the empty shelves, to find that it had been put on offer at £13 a bottle!
So what it is all the fuss about? It is a traditional method sparkling wine (don't say 'Champagne Method / Methode Champenoise' or the French will be after you, even if that is what it is) that comes from Lombardy in the North-West of Italy.
The grapes used are a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Nero & Pinot Blanc, the last of these being the only variety not used in Champagne, and they have been selected under strict rules (so Tesco say) and lightly pressed before fermentation in small wooden barrels by the producer, Castel Faglia, who farm 17 hectares of vines in small garden-like plots.
The results are great, especially considering the price tag. A Champagne showing the same crisp flavours, backed with some appealing Brioche tones, as this would cost twice as much.
I look forward to finding more examples of Franciacota, perhaps en-route to the slow food and cheese festival in Bra, Piedmont, later this year and of which I will write more in the coming weeks.
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