I Clivi R_B_L__ Brut Nature 2019

"I am fascinated by Italian sparkling wines made of indigenous Italian varieties, and the Zanussis make a really good one. It's not made by either of the normal methods used to make dry sparkling wine, but rather by the method used to make Moscato d'Asti, which involves putting must into the special fermentation tank, and fermenting all the way from grape-juice to sparkling wine in one step. The wine is then aged in the tank on the lees until judged to be done, then decanted off the lees and bottled. (Some top-end Prosecco is made this way, too, such as Sorelle Bronca's 'Particella 68'.) The benefits from doing it this way, rather than by fermenting once to make white wine, then a second time to make sparkling wine, are preservation of aroma, and reduction in alcohol; when you re-ferment it adds around a degree of alcohol. I love this wine; bone dry, but with a toasty note from the lees contact to balance; minerally, savory, mouthwatering, the perfect aperitif." -Oliver McCrum