Serrapetrona Dolce is one of the most unique and unusual wines I've gotten my hands on. It's sparkling off dry red wine made, partially, from grapes dried on straw mats; there is nothing mainstream about this wine whatsoever. Adding to its mystique, only about 45 hectars of land are approved to produce Serrapetrona Dolce and the peculiar wine making process for it is quite involved. I regret that I only bought 6 cases when I had the opportunity.
Serrapetrona Dolce is a small DOCG area in Italy's Marche, over on the east coast about 20 km inland from the Adriatic. The soil is a mix of clay and loam with a fair amount of gypsum and sulfurous rock mixed in underneath. I don't have a real handle on how that influences the wine, but it does reportedly pick up minerality and a resultant stony undertone from the gypsum. Paris Rocchi took over from his father in the late 90's and is one of only four producers of this wild wine.
Aroma: The aroma is a lot of dark berry fruit, cooked flavors, particularly blueberry pie, black cherry, and a spicy smell that is similar to the spicy smell of burning leaves and dead branches in autumn-but not specifically just smoky.
Palate: This is a full red, but it's effervescent too which makes it seem brighter. The bubbles are small and frothy, not too intense. The sweetness likewise isn't overpowering; it makes the wine taste lusher and more substantial but it's balanced by the tannin and spice so you aren't overwhelmed with it. The taste of the wine starts with big juicy fruit that fills your mouth with a velvety texture. Behind that fruit the wine starts to show some spicy herbal qualities of dried lavender, rosemary, and thyme followed by some sweetness and a meaty taste. The wine finishes with a long and lingering dried plum and slight tannin.
This is my go to wine for National Pie Day but unfortunately I don't have much so it's only available at a few places. The only retail shops with this are Rosemont on Munjoy Hill and the Freeport Cheese and Wine shop; however you could also try it at Bresca or Trattoria Athena in Brunswick. I was all excited thinking about how well this will go with blueberry pie, or pork pie, or a mince meat pie and thought I was brilliant for having thought of these pairings. Then I translated the company's website and discovered that they actually recommend pairing this with pie. Oh well, at least I'm validated. This is approximately $17 retail
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