Light straw yellow with hints of green color; white peach, pear, apple on floral nose; abundant peach, pear, apple, honey flavors on the palate.
Creamy, mellow, rich, full body for a sparkling, restrained sweetness (classifies as dry with 23 G/L RS—grams per liter residual sugar; dry is sweetest classification of Prosecco, but this is not cloyingly sweet by any means). Persistent bubbles. Good balancing acidity; lemon meringue on the long, creamy finish.
Bisol may be the premier estate in Cartizze with a wine-making legacy going back to 1542; Bisol claims 21 generations have worked the land and made the wine. The estate was the front lines between Austria-Hungary and Italian forces in World War I but survived, as did the family. The estate survived again in World War II. After WWII, patriarch Desiderio Bisol distributed different roles to each of his four sons. Antonio, in charge of administration at Bisol, notes: “my father Desiderio was acutely sensitive to product quality and always tried to buy the best plots, the most expensive and steepest and therefore the most difficult to work, but it was that very steepness and composition which made them ideal for nurturing Glera grapes”. Prosecco is made with glera grapes (a name recently acquired so Prosecco could be trademarked in same way as Champagne; prior to that, glera was called prosecco).
The Valdobbiadene region is fractured into many small plots and the winemaking involves several different parties. The 262 acres of the Cartizze hill, for instance, are owned by 140 different owners. Bisol is one of the few companies that controls the entire process from the land and vines to the winery and bottling.
Quality comes at a cost, and Bisol Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Cartizze clearly is high-end Prosecco. Proseccos in the $10-15 range are delicious and are enjoying a massive surge in popularity, but they do not quite achieve the pinnacles of creamy smoothness and sophistication that Bisol Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Cartizze reaches. That still raises the question: would you prefer one bottle of this or three bottles of that? The obvious answer seems to be both, the decision influenced by the circumstances. And, if you decide to go for three instead of one, Bisol makes Proseccos in lower price ranges, too.
Bisol Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Cartizze clearly is a special event, damn the expense, full fun ahead proposition. At the very least, give this effort a try just to be able to say you have given this a try. But, be wary. It is much like quality real Champagne or very well done pinot noir, once you experience tastes on the mountain top, it can be hard to return to the valley. Bisol Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Cartizze is delicious, creamy—creamy with captivating fruit just keeps coming through sip after sip. Put this on your bubbly bucket list. $43-50
Other photos: Bisol family; Cartizze hill vineyards and town; Bisol cellar
