Frizzante Rifermentato Spontaneamente Magnum Ca' dei Zago 2022

Ca' Dei Zago's Colfondo is a splendid example of Prosecco made the old-fashioned way with the so-called ancestral method, involving re-fermentation in the bottle. The Zago family tradition goes back as far as 1924, when Christian's great-grandfather, the current manager of the winery, was producing wines that not only came from completely healthy and chemically untreated grapes, but also without them being filtered or stabilised. The credo has remained the same ever since, although it has been enriched by the skills Christian gained during his trip to New Zealand, with the firm application of biodynamic agriculture in the vineyard. Quite old vines, around 50-60 years old complete an idyllic picture, a true enclave of Colfondo that gives birth each year to bottles that stand out for their ease of drinking and extreme adherence to the terroir.

Colfondo by Ca' Dei Zago comes from a vineyard located at an altitude of 400 metres, with approximately 50-year-old vines mainly of Glera, the area's main variety. Other local varieties are minimally used, such as Verdiso, Bianchetta and Perera. After a light pressing of the grapes, fermentation takes place in steel during the winter. Before fermentation ends completely, the liquid is bottled with a good amount of residual sugar, so that the natural re-fermentation process in the bottle takes place. Christian's ultimate goal is to produce wines in which the must remains in contact with the skins for three to five days, just as his grandfather used to do, and the results seem to prove him right.

The Ca' Dei Zago Colfondo presents itself in the glass with a fine bubble and a slightly veiled straw colour, due to the presence of yeasts. The nose presents a bucolic portrait, in which notes of cut grass, citrus fruits, and crunchy fruit first peep out, to leave room for a refined floral quality. The sip is truly an emblem of purity and rusticity, capable of immortalising its territory of origin like few others. Hints of green apple take second place to a taste that stands out for its crispness, cohesion and freshness. Really not to be missed in its type, where it is at the top. Excellent.