Description
La Battagliola, Pignoletto Millesimato “Grand Pignol”
We’re constantly prattling on about wines that “over-deliver,” which I suspect creates a “boy who cried wolf” effect, but this must be said: Today’s sleek Italian sparkler over-delivers at a level rarely seen. I guess you could say there are several tiers of over-delivery, and La Battagliola’s “Grand Pignol” is at the very top.
Crafted from Pignoletto (a.k.a. Grechetto) grown in the gravelly plains around Modena, this live-wire spumante lit up a table full of jaded tasters in search of something new and exciting. We all know what a minefield the world of non-Champagne sparkling wine can be—most of them, even when dressed up with a proper cork and cage, fall flat—but here’s one that truly gets everything right, and for just $29 at that. Bone-dry, taut, fragrant, long…the superlatives kept rolling in as I conjured a dream pairing scenario involving fluffy little pillows of gnocco fritto (fried dough) topped with lardo or prosciutto. However you choose to serve it, prepare to be blown away!
Sparkling wine culture runs as deep in Italy as anywhere in the world, and this one comes from the land of Lambrusco, Emilia-Romagna. Pignoletto is the local name for a white variety known as Grechetto di Todi in nearby Umbria, where it is used in blends in Orvieto and elsewhere. Pignoletto/Grechetto is blessed with great acidity and some nice floral accents to its aromas, and it is one of those grapes that lends itself to a variety of expressions—i.e. dry, sparkling, and late-harvest/sweet. In Emilia-Romagna, a DOC zone for Pignoletto (which, confusingly, is also called Pignoletto) covers wines from vineyards in and around Modena and Bologna. La Battagliola is in Piumazzo, southeast of Modena, where they grow not just Pignoletto but Lambrusco Grasparossa, Sangiovese, and other local varieties.
Alberto Salvadori inherited the farm that would become La Battagliola in 1999, and he is now joined by his children, Beatrice and Tommaso. They farm approximately 27 hectares of vines on the gravelly plains of Modena, and while Lambrusco Grasparossa is their headliner, this Pignoletto really steals the show. It is made in the charmat (tank) method, wherein the second fermentation is carried out in pressurized stainless steel autoclaves, and it spends about four months aging on its lees before bottling.
These are modest technical stats relative to Champagne, but “Grand Pignol” truly does not suffer by comparison. It’s a glistening yellow-gold in the glass, with pretty aromas of chamomile, yellow apple, a hint of peach, ginger, and wet stones. The feature that stood out the most for all of us was its taut, mouth-watering structure: Whereas many Prosecco wines feel downright flabby and slightly sweet on the palate, this one has a rigid background and a lively, citrusy, aromatic finish. It is plenty bracing and mineral enough for hardcore Champagne geeks, but lands squarely in the aperitivo weight class. Chill a bottle or two down, get your Italian snack game dialed in, and enjoy this transcendent value. Salute!
