I brought this sparkling wine to Blue Oval's house on Saturday for dinner with the BO's, Frankie and his wife. I bought it for $26. We opened this with appetizers and saved some to drink with an intermezzo of lemon and peach sorbet as well.

Lady Vino Me made the 2 appetizers. The first was an escargot stuffed mushroom in a garlic butter sauce and the second was fresh mozzarella, basil and a cherry tomato on a skewer with balsmic vinegar. I thought this wine matched both appetizers and the sorbet very well.

Franciacorta is regarded as Italy's premier sparkling wine region and Bellavista is probably the top producer. Bellavista was founded in 1976 by Vittorio Moretti who owns 1250 acres in the Lombardy lake country just North of Milan. This was the only wine we had at the dinner on Saturday which was not from Piedmont. The winemaker is Mattia Vezzola. This Grande Cuvee is made from a special selection of of the estates best grapes and contains approximately 72% Chardonnay and 28% Pinot Bianco and Pinot Nero and is made in the traditional Champagne method. This wine was given 92 points by Parker and won the prestigious Tre Bicchieri award in 2001.

I found it to be less than advertised. It had a light straw appearance with fine bubbles. The aromas were sweet and contained a hint of mousse. I noted pear and ripe apple and thought that the initial taste was rather focused. However, it did not follow through. Although it was an interesting wine, I thought the flavor faded quickly on the palate. 89 points.

VM

[ 11-04-2002, 06:43 PM: Message edited by: Vino Me ]

I have had hit-or-miss experiences with this maker, and with all Italian sparklers in general ( with the exception of Bruno Giacosa ). But I usually get more out of this than you did.....

The appetizers I thought were fantastic. I think I may have enjoyed the sparkler a little more. It matched well I thought. Didn't take that second chance to go at it, though (before the entree).

Blue

GMTinJapan,

I miss a bit the precise meaning of that "hit-or-miss" expression of yours, but if I'm not wrong you mean that the Bruno Giacosa Brut is the only wine that you consistently appreciate among the Italian bubbles.

Many compliments, a choice that is quite rare even here in Italy, even if I can pay it as low as 16 euros per bottle.

Anyway, have you ever had one or both of the two traditional top Italian bottles of bubbles:

- Trento DOC "Giulio Ferrari Riserva del Fondatore", by Ferrari

- Franciacorta DOCG "Cuvée AnnaMaria Clementi", by Ca' del Bosco

?

They are both vintage labels, and with a short ageing after release they get to such a creamy freshness, and to such a refined complexity of flavours that it's not enough to simply pick up a bottle showing the saying "Chamapgne AOC" and a well known brand on the label to tackle their high-end quality.

And believe me, if I have to be nationalist regarding bubbles, I begin speaking French!

MM: What I meant was that I have about one bad bottle in four when it comes to Bellavista, but I still buy them because I think that they are huge deal when compared with champagne. I have never had a bad Giacosa......
I had a wonderful 1985 G. Ferrari, and almost as great 1990 also. Normal bottles are "mezzo-mezzo" to me, but these Reserves were great. Ca 'del Bosco I do enjoy, but not as much as the BV. The CdB Reserves are priced way too high here.......

Wow, Giulio Ferrari 1985, never found one of these! It must be a real beauty. I agree, the base production is far away from these reserves, in quality. Even though the QPR is not that bad.

AnnaMaria Clementi is really nice, especially 90 and 94. In Italy it's just 10 euros more expensive than the Giulio Ferrari, i.e. 45-50 euros.

When it comes to prices, I realize how lucky I am, to live in Italy...

You really are......my father's ancestral home is Italy, and I hope to get there soon!
The 85 Ferrari Reserve is still available in the
states: most people have no idea what it is......a real shame! So many people think that Italy is all Asti Spumante.......

Looks like some good Italian DNA fragments made their way up to the US, and then to Japan, to inspire you in developing your fine taste about wine!

Just curious: how much is it, a bottle of 1985 Giulio Ferrari Riserva, in the US?

It was $49.95 when I bought it, now at $59.95 the last time I saw it ( this past April ). This was in Burlingame, near San Francisco. Ferrari is tough to find in the USA, easy in Japan. Unfortunately, I can't find any Reserves here in Japan.