Colli di Catone 2021 Frascati Superiore

Terroir Notes:  Antonio Pulcini’s estate was known for its wines at the time of the Roman Empire. He has quietly championed the ancient Malvasia Puntinata (Malvasia del Lazio) and Grechetto - varieties almost lost to the onslaught of Trebbiano and Malvasia di Candia. Pulcini prunes his vines to produce tiny crops - typically around 20 hectoliters per hectare - to develop the concentrated fruit he believes is necessary for truly ageworthy wines.

Winemaking Notes:  The Frascati Superiore is a blend of 40% Malvasia Puntinata, 30% Trebbiano, and 30% Malvasia di Candia cropped at a fraction of permitted yields.The wine is macerated on the skins for four to five days before fermentation with indigenous yeasts. The wine is kept on its fine lees until bottling in March.

Tasting Notes:  The 2021 is lean and mineral rich upon entry with a fuzzy, cuddly, savory finish of dried herbs and dried apricots. The wine is coy, offering quick glimpses of its multidimensional character, bouncing between vibrant salinity and stern richness and then right back again. A bit of a tease, it will leave you desparate for more until, poof, the bottle is emplty and you're left with the memory of what once was and the fantasy of what might be again.

Pair with shellfish, white pizza, pasta with tomato and guanciale, and pecorino cheese.