Rosso Frizzante 'Wai' Tenuta Belvedere 2019

Tenuta Belvedere winery's Rosso "Wai" is an immediate, delicate, fragrant sparkling wine produced in Montecalvo Versiggia, in the province of Pavia, in the beautiful hills of Oltrepò Pavese. This label is made from a blend of grapes in which the Croatina variety, predominantly present with its rusticity and a light spiciness, blends seamlessly with Barbera and Pinot Noir. The vines are trained using the espalier method with guyot pruning on hillsides at different altitudes characterized by soils with predominantly clay-limestone soils. The winery is a young entity, owning about 10 hectares under vine, managed by Gianluca Cabrini according to the methods prescribed by organic farming and limiting interventions both in the vineyard and in the cellar to a minimum to keep the final product as little altered as possible.

"Wai" Rosso Frizzante is made from carefully selected grapes harvested by hand when they reach their optimal ripeness. The clusters, brought to the winery, are destemmed and gently crushed and then undergo alcoholic fermentation, using only indigenous yeasts, in temperature-controlled concrete vessels for several weeks. This is followed by racking with pressing of the skins, after which the wine is aged for at least 18 months in cement vats before being bottled and carrying out a refermentation in the bottle on its yeasts for about 8 months according to the ancestral method, which does not involve the subsequent stages of disgorging and addition of liquor d'expedition, or dosage.

Tenuta Belvedere's Frizzante Rosso "Wai" has an intense ruby red colour with light purple hues. Intense red fruit aromas appear on the nose, including cherry, black cherry and ripe plum, floral notes of rose and officinal herbs, spicy hints of black pepper, and then close on light hints of baker's yeast. In the mouth, it is tasty, effervescent, fresh and juicy, characterized by well-present tannin and a sip finish on pleasantly persistent fruity tones. This from the Tenuta Belvedere winery is a well-executed experiment, a particular ancestral method with a convivial sip.