L'Antica Quercia Prosecco Indigeno 2020

L’Antica Quercia is a beautiful estate run by Claudio Francavilla. Claudio believes in the old methods so his 58 acres of land are covered not just with Glera grape vines but olive trees, pomegranates and tons of old growth woods. Glera is an ancient name for the local grape that was known as Prosecco until the popularity of the sparkling wines started to grow. 

At that time the name Prosecco was adopted for the style of wine and the grapes used to make it were designated as Glera, the old Roman name. Claudio is a minimalist in the cellar, preferring to let the grapes make the wine. All of the juice is pressed to concrete tanks where it is chilled and allowed to settle overnight. It is then racked to clean tanks and the alcoholic fermentation is conducted over 8 to 9 days. Once the wine is almost dry it is bottled and finishes the second fermentation to create the sparkle. Francavilla moves the bottles to a cellar located 6000 feet above sea level where they rest for at least one year before he releases them. At that elevation the temperature is cold, so the wines evolve very slowly and develop amazing complexity.

Be prepared when you serve this wine that it is going to be cloudy, but steer into it and give the bottle a gentle roll in your hands to mix it up. The nose is a complex mix of dried straw, toasted breadcrumbs, dried pears, fresh kiwi and underripe pineapple. On first sip there is a moment of richness that is quickly framed by a wild mix of acidity, minerality and even a little tannin, that holds the wine in cheque into the finish. Serve with a charcuterie platter, wild mushroom risotto or veal and pork meatballs.