A ‘bone dry Moscato’ is quite an oxymoron. A phrase which perfectly sums up Ca’Salina’s Brutissimo Manzoni Moscato Extra Brut, a pink sparkling wine. If you Google ‘Moscato wine’, you’ll see that it is typically a sweet wine. When I Googled ‘Moscato Extra Brut’, Ca’Salina’s Brutissimo on my website was the only one that appeared. Hence, Moscato is rarely, if ever, bone dry.
Brutissimo is an exceptional wine, not only in terms of taste but also how it’s made. Produced using Manzoni Moscato grapes, it has only 0.5 grams of residual sugar per litre (that’s very low – a typical Prosecco Extra Dry has around 16g of sugar). The Moscato grape is highly aromatic and sweet. The Ca’Salina winery from Valdobbiadene in Veneto, Italy manages to retain all the lovely aromas of strawberries, peach and citrus notes whilst converting most of the sugar to alcohol. Given that Ca’Salina’s sweet version (Manzoni Moscato Dolce) has 50g of residual sugar, it would be logical to assume Brutissimo would end up with a high alcohol content. But no, somehow their clever winemaker has made it with an astonishing and acceptable 11% ABV.
Not only are the winemaking skills impressive, the end result is wonderful. It was the most popular wine at my Pink Fizz event in March. I thought some guests would find it too dry, but no, the majority loved it and voted it their favourite. The fruity notes really come through and make it a pleasure to drink, with no harshness. I love the beautiful fruit aromas, the gentle acidity, the taste of peaches, raspberries and cream on the palate (kind of a ‘peach melba’ to me) combined with the clean, fresh finish not forgetting the beautiful rose petal pink colour that looks so inviting in the glass. (Best enjoyed in a wider tulip glass, not a flute!).
And as for the name, I discovered that Brutissimo means “Very Bad or Ugly” in Italian. Really?! Well that’s if you spell it “Bruttissimo” . I queried this with Ca’Salina as it seemed a bit odd as it’s far from bad or ugly. In Italian, it’s a humorous take on the word. The joke was wasted on me. I guess it is kind of like ‘wicked’, where it can mean really good but also very bad. It certainly fits well with the oxymoron of a bone dry Moscato.
If you’re curious to try this special and perhaps unique Brutissimo, bone dry rosé sparkling wine, it is available as part of our ‘Low Sugar Prosecco and Sparkling Wine’ and ‘Pink Fizz’ Discovery Boxes, as well as by the bottle or case.
Julia Phillips
Owner at Just Perfect Wines
03/05/20