2006 Banfi Rosa Regale Brachetto D'Acqui D.O.C.G.

Recently I had an opportunity to taste this unique Italian sparkling wine made from 100% Brachetto, a rare grape variety indigenous to southern Italy. Wine made from Brachetto is generally medium in body, lightly sparkling and can be slightly sweet to semi-sweet. These wines are usually fruity and floral with aromas that may include black raspberry, black cherry, notes of tar, clove and flowers such as violets or orchids.

By now, you may ask why these sparkling reds are so special? Let me tell you: the uniqueness about these wines is their alcohol content, which generally ranges from 5.5% to 7%. – A real wine with ABV of a beer!

Brachetto wines can very versatile. It can be drunk as aperitif (with mild cheese or salami) on a hot summer afternnon, as dinner wine (with turkey, mashed potato and stuffing), and as desert (matched with dark chocolate). Besides being yummy, is low alcohol content is especially appealing to those people with low or no alcohol tolerance.

Rosa Regale is produced by Vigne Regali from Strevi, Piedmont. It is owned by the U.S. importer Banfi Vintners. All the grapes are harvested from the La Rosa single vineyard within the Acqui D.O.C.
By the way, D.O.C.G. (Vino a Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita), a system similar to the A.O.C. in France means very little to us consumers except that the wine with such labeling must meet a certain yield level and some evaluation standards of a tasting committee prior to bottling. [Please correct me if I am wrong here.]

ABV: 7%, Price: $18

Tasting notes:

Color: Dark ruby and slightly opaque.

Nose: Intense aroma of red berries and rose petals.

Palate: Fairly grapy. Flavor is of raspberry, cranberry with maybe strawberry. Fairly crisp, tannins is there is not obstructive. Semi sweet and not much complexity.

Body: Medium, light fizzy (as bubbly than a normal prosecco)

Finish: Slightly bitter with flavor of red berries, fairly short.