This year's Decanter World Wine Awards Regional Trophy for Sparkling Veneto over £15 went to Vigne Matte, Extra Dry, Prosecco di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Superiore 2013 (11%)
Tasted against:
- No other Golds in this category
Profile:
The area of Prosecco di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Superiore, elevated to DOCG status in 2010, is about 20,000 hectares in size and sits 50km from Venice. The north-facing slopes of these steep hillsides are largely coated in forest, while those that look to the sunny south are terraced with vineyards.
Vigne Matte’s owner Giovanni Ruigenerated his wealth in businesses far removed from that of wine but, through his love of Prosecco, established this estate in 2004. Next to the red-bricked, 19th-century house that dominates the property he built a high tech,modern winery as well analysing and redeveloping the 35ha of vineyards.
About 50,000 bottles of this Trophy winnerwere made, and it was crafted with a distinct goal in mind, according to brand ambassador Alessia Della Pietà: ‘To represent the perfect extra-dry sparkling wine born in the heart of the Prosecco DOCG area, but at the same time showing the distinctive traits of these hand-picked Glera grapes grown at altitude in clay and sand stone soils.’
She says the combination of these factors, plus the low-yields and a fermentation using natural yeasts, has given a wine full of body and character.
Written by Decanter
