NV Borgo Frare Prosecco

We tried a new restaurant / bar that has opened up just around the corner with a few friends. Normally we favour BYO places so we can take something from the cellar, but this was licensed only. The old restaurant on the site used to be family friendly and very homely. The new one is super trendy with the total age of the wait staff combined probably less than my age (which in part says something about my age but also about the inadequate number of wait staff). But you didn’t come here for a restaurant review.

Nothing gets a night off to a good start like some quality bubbles and the NV Borgo Frare Prosecco was my choice from the 4 sparklers on the menu and it was a perfect choice. Light, with enough yeast flavours to add complexity, but not so much as to make you over think the drink. This Prosecco from Treviso is full of life and exactly what you expect from the style. If the night was a little warmer, you could picture some condensation dripping down the outside of the glass while this quenced your thirst and said dinner is on its way.

The was enough acidity to accompany the fried calimari with beading that lasted the distance.

For $39 (restaurant prices) this is a great value great quality fun drop.

2006 Franciacorta Brut Satèn Millesimato Le Marchesine DOCG

Last night we went to Aria (http://www.ariarestaurant.com/default.asp?action=article&ID=21609) one of Sydney’s highest rated eateries, holder of 2 chefs hats and multiple award winner for best wine list and in 2008 they were inducted into the hall of fame as part of the Australian wine list of the year awards.

So I was certainly looking forward to the experience and once at the restaurant I could easily have spent all night just reading the list and revelling in its variety and quality. And I nearly did, the wine service was so pitifully slow I ended up nursing the wine list while eating entrees waiting for the sommelier to take my order for the wine I would have enjoyed with entree, instead we skipped that and moved on to something more substantial for mains.

But more on that later. I thought I’d record my notes from the 3 wines we did successfully managed to order over the three hour dinner. (You know when you get really small meal servings you stop at McDonalds on the way home to top up, well this was the same with wine, I couldn’t wait to get home to grab another drink from my cellar.) So if Matt or Pete are reading this … put on another sommelier please.

The wine list is indeed a work of art and can be found here (http://www.ariarestaurant.com/media/library/PDF/Menus/CURRENT%20LIST.pdf). It makes great reading. Sure it’s not cheap but the quality of what we drank was wonderful and in preparation for the night I considered what I might like to try and just about everything I considered could have been found.

So this blog entree is about the Prosecco I chose while we considered the food list (but the wine order didn’t end up getting taken until well after the food selection was done and had to last us through our entree. Sorry, that’s all I’ll say about that.)

I wanted a Prosecco and given my family is from the North of Italy in Lombardia, the 2006 Franciacorta Brut Satèn Millesimato Le Marchesine DOCG was almost from our neighbourhood. That’s not a terribly scientific way to choose a wine, but I trusted in the selection of the wine list and I wasn’t dissappointed.

2006 Franciacorta Brut Satèn Millesimato Le Marchesine

Wikipedia says “Franciacorta is a sparkling wine from Lombardy with DOCG status produced from grapes grown within the boundaries of the territory of Franciacorta, on the hills of a series of townships to the south of Lake Iseo in the Province of Brescia. It was awarded DOC status in 1967 and since 1995 the DOCG classification has applied exclusively to the sparkling wines of the area.”

The Le Marchesine is from a tiny village called Passirano and it’s now on my must visit list because the wine itself was superb. It had an incredibly fine bead, was wonderfully dry with sophistication and elegance in equal quantities. For a hot humid afternoon this did the trick very nicely indeed.

I’ve not been able to track these down anywhere in Australia, but I will continue to look. Made from 100% Chardonnay it is made with a similar method to Champagne to make the perfect appertif. Luckily it also has enough body and acid to accompany our entree, which for me was Pork Belly.

This divine experience was worth every dollar of the $115 price tag. The value of a great wine list is also that it expands one’s horizons and it has introduced me to something new. I subsequently found this great Blog article on the wines of Franciacorta and I recommend it to you if you wish to find out more. The address is (http://italianwinereview.blogspot.com/2006/12/on-franciacorta.html).

More on the main course wine and the dessert wine in following blog entrees. As they say in the classics … stay tuned.

2009 Brown Brothers King Island Prosecco

Brown Brothers has always been an innovative wine maker prioneering new grape varieties and wine making techniques. This Prosecco is a delightfully dry and light Prosecco sitting at about 11% alcohol (from memory). The style is a little dryer than many Italian Prosecco examples but its accessibility makes it the ideal pre-dinner drink on a summer’s day. The way maker suggests it is “so fresh and crisp that it is a great drink on its own to kick off an evening. However, this wine’s attractive flavours would make it a suitable partner to lightly fried calamari in a herb infused oil or freshly shucked oysters.”

There’s enough yeast flavours with pears and apples to give it some complexity. It’s natural dryness finishes as citrus in the mouth.

2009 Brown Brothers King Island Prosecco

We enjoyed it on a warm humid afternoon looking out over some water with the summer sounds of the bush in our ears. Nothing says “lazy summer afternoon” like 2009 Brown Brothers King Island Prosecco. Drink now while fresh,