San Silvestro Asti Spumante
£9.75
The wine
Moscato at its most charming. Fresh and fragrant, delicately sweet, and carried on a fine mousse. Asti Spumante is made to be poured young and cold, and this is a gentle, low-strength way to finish a meal or open an afternoon.
Asti Spumante is made by the Charmat method, the second fermentation taking place in pressurised tank, and the fermentation is arrested while sugar remains so the wine stays sweet and low in alcohol. Moscato Bianco is intensely aromatic, and the whole art is capturing that grape perfume before it fades. Serve very cold.
The producer
San Silvestro
View all San Silvestro winesFour generations at Novello, in the heart of the Langhe. Giovanni Sartirano founded San Silvestro in 1871, and the estate is run today by cousins Paolo and Guido from vineyards across the Langhe, Roero and Monferrato.
Novello is one of the eleven communes of Barolo and among its highest, which matters increasingly as vintages warm: altitude extends the ripening season and preserves the acidity and perfume that make Nebbiolo worth the trouble. The family also work the region's less celebrated grapes, including Nascetta, a white variety native to Novello itself that had almost vanished by the 1990s and is now grown by a small group of local producers determined to keep it.
The family hold Equalitas certification for sustainable cultivation, and the winemaking is modern in polish while staying faithful to what each site gives. Barbera, Nebbiolo, Cortese and Moscato all feature alongside the Barolo, and the range travels a good deal further than the local market it once served.
