The Cecilia Beretta Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG Millesimato Brut 2015 is a $9.99 import Sparkling wine found at Trader Joe’s. This is not your typical ten buck Prosecco, most Prosecco in this price range are grown in the DOC sections of Prosecco (inside the Treviso region of Italy). The Cecilia Beretta is grown in the DOCG classified area situated between the towns of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene in a very hilly part of the Prosecco growing region. Grapevines love hillsides, the sunlight is evenly distributed and when it rains the roots get a good drink but the rainwater does not pool. The 3rd thing that stands out about this Prosecco is that it is vintage dated (2015), if you look at the Sparkling wine shelf at your local wine shop almost all the Bubbly anywhere near this price are non-vintage wines. Non-vintage wines are routine because Bubbly producers have a unique “house style” and blending wines from different vintages allows them to keep flavor and texture continuity even when confronted with a difficult growing year. Vintage dated Bubbly (that’s the Millesimato in the title) are typically only produced in years when there was an extraordinary vintage, it is not uncommon to produce a vintage Bubbly only 3 or 4 times a decade. As a reminder, the production of Prosecco differs from Champagne in that Prosecco gets its bubbles from large pressurized vats and the length of time in the vat usually corresponds to the quality of the Bubbly. Also the pressure inside a bottle of Champagne is 6 or 7 atmospheres and the pressure inside the Cecilia Beretta Prosecco is 5 atmospheres which is fairly high for Prosecco. Brut indicates this Bubbly is not sweet, in still wine dry means not sweet, but in Sparkling wine dry means slightly sweet, I know it’s backwards. The alcohol content is 11%.
The color is a pale golden-yellow with a good amount of energetic bubbles. The nose is varied, but delicate, apple, pear, orange, honey, lime, and lemon. This Bubbly is softer and more rounded than many Prosecco in the price range which can have a sharp edge from the acidity. It tastes of a stew of ripe apple, apricot, orange, and lemon. The mid-palate brings grapefruit, lime, a hint of minerality, and orange blossom honey, nice! The acidity is nicely balanced some Sparkling wines in the 10 dollar price range can be a little shrill, but here the acidity is smooth. The finish is soft and long-lasting.
The Cecilia Beretta Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Millesimato Brut 2015 is a bargain at $9.99, period. Very tasty and well controlled, it drinks far above its price point. There are many solid Prosecco’s on the market and it is hard to stand out, but the Cecilia Beretta has a leg up on the completion.
