Winemaker Notes
A natural match with Moscato is dessert. Surprisingly whether it is Indian or Asian, Thai or other ethnic spicy dishes, Saracco Moscato with its low alcohol content, reduces the effects of oils which make spicy foods hot. You will be surprised and delighted!
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
Incredible depth and richness, yet so layered and beautiful. Light, creamy texture. Medium body, light sweetness and a crisp, fruity finish.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Moscato d'Asti is especially bright and fruity in this extremely hot and dry vintage. You feel that extra concentration of fruit with summer peach, honeysuckle, star jasmine and yellow rose. Moscato d'Asti traditionally offers a foamy and creamy bubble quality, and you get that here in generous supply. The creaminess of the mouthfeel plus that sweet residual sugar find excellent balance. The alcohol is 6%. This is a leading wine of the appellation. Moscato d'Asti is best when consumed immediately, but you could push this wine a few years more.
-
Wine Enthusiast
This fragrant, foaming sparkler boasts heady scents of yellow stone fruit and crushed herb. Mirroring the nose, the savory mouthwatering palate doles out juicy apricot, ripe yellow peach and sage. Fresh acidity and a creamy mousse provide freshness and finesse.
Editors' Choice
While Muscat comes in a wide range of styles from dry to sweet, still to sparkling and even fortified, it's safe to say it is always alluringly aromatic and delightful. The two most important versions are the noble, Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains, making wines of considerable quality and Muscat of Alexandria, thought to be a progeny of the former. Somm Secret—Pliny the Elder wrote in the 13th century of a sweet, perfumed grape variety so attractive to bees that he referred to it as uva apiana, or “grape of the bees.” Most likely, he was describing Muscat.
Recognized as the source of the best Barbera in all of Italy, Asti is a province (as well as major city) in Piedmont, consisting of a gentle, rolling landscape with vineyards, farmland and forests alternating throughout.
Barbera d’Asti can be made in an array of styles from relatively straightforward, fruity and ready for consumption early, to the more concentrated, oak aged version with an ability to cellar impressively for 10-15 years and beyond. Some of the very best sites for Barbera in Asti are concentrated in the subzone of Nizza Monferrato. Other red varieties grown here include Freisa, Grignolino and Dolcetto, which can be bottled varietally or blended into Barbera.
Historically consumers commonly associated the Asti region with Asti Spumante and Moscato d’Asti, both playful, aromatic, sparkling wines made from the Muscat grape. Asti Spumante is less sweet, fully fizzy and more alcoholic (yet still clocking in at only around 9% alcohol) while Moscato d’Asti is sweeter, gently sparkling (“frizzante”) and closer to 5 or 6% alcohol. Each is produced in stainless steel tanks to preserve the fresh and fruity flavors of the grape, often including peach, apricot, lychee and rose petal. Asti is also the spot for the pink-hued Brachetto d'Acqui, a slightly sparkling wine ready to charm with its raspberry and rose flavors and aromas.