2024 Tenuta il Falchetto, Moscato Canelli DOCG “Tenuta del Fant” Sparkling Wine, Piemonte, Italy.
Sometimes as wine professionals we forget how good and refreshing these well made natural Moscato fizzy wines can be and I was happy to find this Falchetto, with its low alcohol and not overly sweet version at the most recent slowly Wine tour stop in San Francisco, where it shined in between dark Dolchetto, Barbera and Nebbiolo offerings from Piemonte. I mentioned how tasty Falchetto’s Barbera was already, but would be a miss not to bring attention to this semi-sweet sparkling Moscato with its heaven lightness of feel and deep perfume of jasmine and delicate spearmint note, along with the peach, apple and lime/lime fruits. Because of its low alcohol, subtle mousse and bright acidity, that cuts into the residual sugar, Moscatos can be excellent starter course wines and not a dessert after thought and can be lovely on a warm afternoon to celebrate anything you could think of. Most of the time you think of the mass produced Moscato d’Asti and kind of give them a pass, but Canelli has its own clone and a full DOCG, with choices of a thick and fully sweet still DOC, Sauternes inspired version, and this creamy, lighter and fizzy version DOCG, which have become the real go to examples of Piemonte Muscat (Moscato) wines. You can enjoy Moscato Canelli fizzy wine with a variety of cuisines and I do like it with briny dishes, it can go with raw oysters and or grilled shrimp or prawns, plus it is nice with a cheese board and a hearty brunch menu, instead of a Mimosa, as it is not too heavy. For Canelli, fermentation takes place spontaneously with native yeasts and without temperature control or sulfur. The Moscato is then aged on its lees at cold temperatures in tank, after which the tank is gently brought up in temperature to kick-start a secondary fermentation, at close to 5.5% alcohol. The wine then typically gently filtered, lightly sulfured (a DOCG requirement) and re-chilled to settle in a pressurized tank.
Being a big Barbera geek and lover it was great to discover a new quality producer, which I did at the recent Slow Wine show in San Francisco, finding Tenuta Il Falchetto and their wildly delicious all tank raised and pure Pian Scorrone Barbera d’Asti with was deep purple/garnet in the glass with a fresh array of black and blue fruits, along with this delicious Moscato Canelli. Located in the Valle Tinella, between Asti and Alba, Tenuta Il Falchetto is a Barbera specialist, though they also do Arneis and Moscato, and have a clean and structured style that is very appealing throughout the range, especially these wines mentioned. It was also a pleasure to meet Margherita Forno of Tenuta Il Falchetto, as mentioned in my prior review, and hear about the winery, the wines, which also included a fabulous age worth Botti raised Superiore version of Barbera, and a creamy fresh Moscato Canelli, this is definitely a winery to follow, and is on my watch list. Those that speak Italian would benefit from explore their website, alas I don’t have those skills, even though I love Italy and really should put in more effort! They also have a parcel in Nizza, the best pure Barbera zone in Piemonte, where they do a rare and exciting Riserva, that is a wine I hope to try in the future. The Canelli DOCG, set on its calcareous soils, is completely surrounded by Asti DOCG on the map and produce only sweet frizzante (less fizzy than Champagne method style sparkling wines) offerings. Muscat or Moscato, with close to 200 different variants, is one of the oldest grape varieties that has been used to produce wine and is remarkably flexible and found almost everywhere you find wine from old world to new world, and made in every style from dry to ultra sweet. So I do recommend exploring the quality made natural frizzante Moscato wines, with Il Falchetto being a very good place to start, plus I always suggest you search out La Spinetta’s absolutely outstanding version, along with Vajra’s, as well.
($24 Est. – 750ml) 92 Points, grapelive