2012 Fontanafredda Alta Langa Contessa Rosa Rosè

Community Tasting Notes (1) Avg Score: 91.3 points

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  2/5/2018 - forceberry wrote: 92 Points

  A blend of Pinot Noir (70%) and Chardonnay (30%). The Pinot Noir portion gets overnight skin maceration and 10% of the Chardonnay portion is aged in barriques, the rest in stainless steel. Aged for 45 months on the lees. The liqueur d'expedition used to top off the wines in the disgorging process is Barolo from the vintage 1967. The dosage is 4 g/l.
  
  The color is very light, pale peachy orange-yellow. The nose feels somewhat restrained, but also very complex and fine-tuned with almost sweet aromas of yeasty richness and some creaminess, tart green apples, some steely minerality, a little bit of rose hips, a hint of wild strawberries and a touch of brioche. The wine is dry, lively and mineral on the palate with quite broad mouthfeel and nuanced flavors of sour cherry-driven red fruits, some sweeter raspberry marmalade notes, a little bit of sweet brioche autolysis, a hint of earthy Pinosity and a hint of steely minerality. There is really a lot of stuff happening here at the same time, yet the wine feels very fine, restrained and sophisticated in style. The structure is quite high-toned with the rather pronounced acidity, wheras the mousse feels very smooth, gentle and creamy. The finish is ripe, rich and pretty acid driven with flavors of sour cherry bitterness, some sweeter cherry marmalade, a little bit of steely minerality, a hint of tart brambly raspberries and a creamy hint of autolysis. The mouth-cleansing aftertaste feels very long and nuanced.
  
  A very beautiful, nuanced and sophisticated rosé bubble that is more about elegance, complexity and freshness than about either fruity, easy-drinking style or very robust, weighty and muscular style. This is a really complex and ambitious effort that is drinking beautifully now, but which will also reward extended cellaring. Definitely a wine to challenge some of the greatest rosé Champagnes out there. Not cheap at 37,40€, but well worth it.

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