2021 La Battagliola, Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro DOC, Dosage Millesimato 15, Red Sparkling Wine, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
The dark magenta, slighty off dry, like an Extra Dry Champagne, and fruity La Battagliola “Dosage Millesimato 15” Lambrusco is a quality version of this ancient sparkling Emilia-Romagna wine and is a perfect picnic, BBQ and outdoor quaffer with dark berry, cherry and currant fruits and an underlying savory tone, spice, dried herbs and lingering crushed violets. The slight amount of dosage here and residual sugar bright a hint of sweetness, but serves best as a fine balance here and makes this Grasparossa di Castelvetro zone Lambrusco easy to sip, giving nice refreshment, nice with warm weather, and still excellent with hearty and flavorful dishes. The mousse is lively, but has a velvet like creamy elegance, with small vigorous bubbles that keep pumping throughout and allowing for sense of crisp energy here in this stylish example of Lambrusco that goes beyond the normal and lifts the category to a new level quality, and I highly recommend this one, especially to be enjoyed on these warm Summer evenings with meaty dishes. Tommaso Salvadori leads La Battagliola these days after taking over from his father Alberto, who founded the company in 1999 and began planting the best clones Lambrusco Grasparossa grapes on his family’s country estate in Piumazzo, with an eye on producing some of the best Lambrusco in the region.
The La Battagliola winery is based in the City of Castelfranco dell’Emilia, in the Province of Modena, best known for incredible Balsamic vinegar and for the near by Ferrari factory, as well as this historic style of wine that has been loved by workers in the region for hundreds of years. In modern times, since around the mid 2000s, Lambrusco has a massive leap forward in quality and a range in styles, both in the more famous red, but also in white and Rosé versions and I’m been incredibly impressed what this new generation of vigorous and winemakers here in Emilia-Romagna has achieved, this not your Grandpa’s Lambrusco anymore, these are wines that you can proudly share with even your most snobby of wine enthusiast friends. For their Dosage Millesimato 15, La Battagliola uses 100% Lambrusco Grasparossa grapes, grown on classic gravelly clay and loam soils, that see a gentle crushing, a chilled 48 hours, then allowed to ferment with indigenous for around a week in temperature controlled stainless steel vats, after which it goes through a secondary or re-ferment in pressurized tank, with a further aging on its fine lees for close to 4 months, were the winery says, it acquires its typical bouquet. It has been intriguing to witness this category of wines raise up and be taken more seriously, and these days we having an awesome array of Lambruscos to explore and enjoy. These drier styles of Lambrusco are far removed from the rustic and meaty versions of old, and this La Battagliola is certainly one to look for.
($22 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive