Moscato d’Asti Ca’ d’ Gal
Hidden in the hills just outside the sleepy town of Neive near Santo Stefano Belbo is Ca’ d’ Gal, home to Sandro Boido’s winery and some of Piemonte’s most sublime Moscato d’Asti. The vines are located on steep slopes on variable soils of limestone-clay and sand. Capturing laughter in every delicate bubble, Moscato d’Asti is an effervescent elixir that lifts you up and slows time to a delicious crawl (and contains only 5% alcohol.)
In contrast to so many other mass-produced Moscato wines, Ca’ d’ Gal Moscato d’Asti is truly an artisanal nectar, harvested by hand and vinified naturally in closed vat with extended lees contact. This added attention is what gives these delightful wines their unique personality—and surprising ability to age.
“Lumine,” the estate’s regular bottling from 30-35 year old vines, captures springy notes of elderflower cordial, mandarin oranges and rose petals, illuminated by a lovely racy effervescence on the tongue. Flavours of white peaches and pears melt on the tongue like cotton candy, perfectly light and balanced. Just a touch of frizzante bubble cleanses the palate.
Vigna Vecchia, as the name implies, is from older vines (55+ years old) grown on very steep slopes, with fruit harvested entirely by hand and picked over ripe. Yields from this one hectare vineyard are a mere 40hl/ha. A noble, almost toasty nose reminds one of champagne, with rich white and yellow peach aromas. Torn mint leaves, sage, fresh Blenheim apricots and delicate nectarines come together on the palate. Abundantly juicy, deliciously complex, this is (as the Marks and Spencer voice intones) not just any Moscato this is Ca’ d’ Gal’s gently fizzy fruity pornucopia. Sandro also puts aside 1000 bottles of Vigna Vecchia to release after several years when the wine begins to develop remarkable Riesling-like qualities.
Drink joyously as an aperitif, as a sorbet-like palate-cleanser, with strawberries, fruit pastries, torta di nocciole (hazelnut cake) and zabaione al moscato (zabaione with nutmeg).