Questo vino
Vineyard and terroir
The fruit comes from 4.80 hectares in Cissone, including vineyards on the Airali hillside at approximately 600 metres. Alta Langa occupies the high hills of southern Piedmont toward the Ligurian Apennines. The area combines stony, sedimentary calcareous-marl soils with a cool climate influenced by Alpine currents.
Grapes
Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Blend proportions vary by vintage; Chardonnay generally accounts for 25–35%.
Vinification
The grapes are harvested by hand and loaded as whole bunches into a pneumatic press. After removing the free-run juice, must obtained from the following pressing cycles is fermented at 22°C to make the base wine. The wine is bottled in March following harvest for traditional-method secondary fermentation.
Ageing
The current wine page specifies at least 36 months in bottle on the lees. At disgorgement, no sweetened dosage is used: the bottle is topped up with the same wine.
Tasting profile
Intense yellow with golden reflections and a fine, persistent perlage. The intense bouquet shows bread crust, nuts, dried figs and honey. Elegant and savoury on the palate, agreeably dry and harmonious, with excellent structure, pronounced freshness and acidity. The wine is described as long-lived.
Serving and pairing
Serve at 8–10°C. Suitable as an aperitif, with fish dishes, pasta, risotto and fresh cheeses, or throughout a meal.
Label / history
Airali takes its name from the Cissone hillside where the vineyards grow. The first production year was 2013. Alta Langa is produced only as a vintage-dated sparkling wine from a single harvest.
