My three New Year’s bubbles
I have three labels in my heart, three bubbles that I’m particularly fond of. Even our taste buds can be sentimental.
The first is Almerita Brut; I have a profound relationship of great esteem with the Tasca d’Almerita family. I have often asked the Count’s children if I could be their brother!
This sparkling wine made in the classic champenoise method comes from the Regaleali estate in central Sicily, with a particular microclimate and remarkable sandy terrain. It rests twenty-four months on the lees creating a palate of toasted bread crust giving way to fruit, with notes of elderberry and pineapple. It’s a structured and therefore beautifully complex wine with persistent perlage.
The second label I hold close to my heart is Krug’s Gran Cuvée, a crazy champagne that brings together 120 wines from a dozen different vintages. Long-lasting with notes of toasted bread, hazelnuts, nougat, almonds, marzipan – in the mouth and on the nose – that arrives to notes of bright citrus. This is a champagne that I would drink even with game or an Aia Gaia chicken. The Gran Cuvée is a bottle to devour, worth celebrating every possible moment of life.
The third, Ferrari 2007 Fratelli Lunelli Reserve, is, in my opinion, a bubble to drink throughout an entire meal – meat, fish, desserts and all – a true master of Italian sparkling wine. Made with the best Chardonnay grapes, it charms the eye with its golden reflections. On the palate, hints of yeast and spice appear. I could easily pair it with a meat tartare from Giuseppe Grasso, an eggplant and Ragusan cheese scaccia or even fish all’acqua pazza.
Ciccio Sultano
practical mind
