Tasted at Vinitaly: Carpenè Malvolti

I have always enjoyed Carpenè Malvolti's wines, and make a point of stopping at their stand during Vinitaly to taste both their Prosecco (their fist wines, and still the bulk of their wines) and their Arte della Spumantistica wines, wines made primarily from other grapes (and from other regions).

Their Prosecco is a solid interpretation of the varietal, which is consistent from vintage to vintage and quite pleasant to drink, especially if you find the higher acidities that generally are associated with Champagne or some of the other more "serious" sparkling wines a bit much, while the latter are quite interesting and quite enjoyable.


Carpenè Malvolti Cuvee Brut 2010
Pale papery white with fine intense perlage. The bouquet is fresh, with savory notes and some fresh floral accents, and hints of apple as well. Nice balance. On the palate it's bright, with lively apple fruit supported by fairly bright apple acidity and by the sparkle, which confers a lively fullness. Quite approachable, and will drink nicely either as an aperitif or throughout a meal built around cheeses (risotti and such), fish, or white meats.
2 stars

Carpenè Malvolti Cuvee Storica 2010
This is their classic Prosecco; it's pale brassy white with brassy reflections and intense perlage. The bouquet is fairly intense, with apples and slight crisp sweetness that gives the apples a granny smith cast, and some acidity as well. Nice balance and inviting. On the palate it's bright, and moderately sweet, with fairly rich apple fruit that gains creaminess from the sparkle, and support from deft granny smith apple acidity, and flows into a clean fresh apple finish with underlying sweetish minerality. Quite approachable, and will work very well as an aperitif. It's a little more languid than the cuvee brut, and a touch sweeter, and as a result is perhaps less suited to the table. 2 stars

Carpenè Malvolti Cuvee Oro Prosecco Dry 2010
Brassy white with fine persistent perlage. The bouquet is fairly sweet, with delicious apples and some mentholated spice, supported by some sugars. On the palate it's full and fairly sweet, with delicious apples supported by sparkle, which confers creaminess, and apple acidity that flows into a fairly long clean apple laced finish. Its quite approachable in a sweeter key -- that's what Dry is -- and will work well as an aperitif if you prefer somewhat sweeter wines, or with friends at poolside or in the evening as the stars come out. It's not, to my way of thinking, as well suited to being drunk with a meal.
1 star

Carpenè Malvolti L'Arte Spumantistica Petit Manseng Brut 2010
Ale brassy white with brassy reflections and fine persistent perlage. The bouquet is fresh, with floral accents and some savory notes mingled with slight savory notes. On the palate it's bright, with fairly rich bitter minerality supported by some honeysuckle and slight orange peel with hints of candied orange bitterness, and it flows into a clean savory finish. Approachable, in a fairly delicate key, and will be a pleasant aperitif, while it will also work well with delicately flavored dishes throughout a meal.
2 stars

Carpenè Malvolti L'Arte Spumantistica Viognier Brut 2010
Pale brassy white with brilliant brassy reflections and white rim, and fine persistent perlage. The bouquet is fairly rich, with delicate citrus laced acidity -- oranges and hints tangerine -- supported by airiness and some herbal accents. On the palate it's fairly rich, and though brut not bone dry; there's moderately intense lemony fruit supported by warmth and minerality, and creaminess form sparkle, which flow into a fairly long orange and tangerine finish witl underlying minerality. It will be nice as an aperitif or with the meal, working well with fish and also delicate white meats.
2 stars

Carpenè Malvolti L'Arte Spumantistica Cerszegy Brut 2010
Brassy white with brilliant brassy reflections and white rim, and fine persistent perlage. The bouquet is fresh and rich, with elegant lemony fruit supporte dby peppery notes and a certain airiness that is also the sparkle, and by some floral accents as well. On the palate it's full and fairly rich, with clean bright mienrlaity and some candied orange peel with the bitterness that comes from the caramelization of the sugars, and pleasant savory underpinning that carries through into the finish, which is fairly loing and rather peppery. Quite enjoyable, and will work well as an aperitif or with grilled fish, inclusing fattier fish such as salmon.
2 stars

Carpenè Malvolti L'Arte Spumantistica Kerner Brut 2010
Pale brassy white with brilliant brassy reflections and fine persistent perlage. The bouquet is rich, with floral accents and white berry fruit supported by deft white berry fruit acidity and some sweet notes; it's quite pleasant and very fresh. On the palate it's rich, with powerful apple fruit laced with some loquat acidity and supported by clean minerality, while the sparkle confers a pleasant fullness, and it flows into a clean bright berry fruit finish with slight peppery notes from the sparkle and sea salt that leaves one wanting another sip. Quite pleasant and will work beautifully as an aperitif or throughout the meal. Quite enjoyable.
88-90

Carpenè Malvolti L'Arte Spumantistica Rosato Brut 2010
Pale pink with salmon reflections, white rim and fine persistent perlage. The bouquet is delicate, with some red berry fruit and moderate mineral acidity; it's quick to write but quite harmonious and pleasant. On the palate it's ample, and rich, with fresh raspberry fruit supported by pleasant mineral acidity and by sparkle, which confers fullness, while the finish is long and mineral, leaving the palate quite clean. It's quite approachable and will work very well as an aperitif, and also throughout the meal; expect people to like it and ask for more.
90

Carpenè Malvolti L'Arte Spumantistica Cuvée 1868 Brut 2010
This is a special wine developed for Italy's 150th anniversary, from Prosecco, Verdiso, Boschera, Pinot Bianco and Incrocio Manzoni. It's brassy white with bright brassy reflections and white rim. The bouquet is intense and complex, with citrus -- orange -- and apple fruit mingled with spice and some minerality, and some greenish vegetal accents as well. Nice depth and pleasingly complex in a young key. On the palate it's full, with bright mineral laced apple fruit that gains direction from some sour lemon acidity and is supported by creamy pepperiness form sparkle, and flows into a clean bright sour aplle finish with underlying peppery notes and sea salt. Pleasant, and will work nicely as an aperitif or with the meal; it's not quite as bright as some of the others but displays a little more depth.
88-90

Carpenè Malvolti L'Arte Spumantistica Gewürztraminer Brut 2010
Brassy white with brilliant brassy reflections and fine persistent perlage. The bouquet is elegant, with fairly rich floral accents supported by slight sea salt and deft acidity. Quite refreshing. On the palate it's fairly full, with delicate lemony fruit supported by pleasant minerality and some greenish accents that flow into a fairly long lemony finish with greenish mineral underpinning. It's quite approachable, and very much alive thanks to its acidity, and will drink nicely as an apritif or with flavorful fish, including salmon, or also creamy dishes, and if you wanted to do something decidedly adventurous you moght serve it with fried fish and vegetables.
90

Carpenè Malvolti L'Arte Spumantistica Cartizze 2010
Cartizze is the finest hill in Prosecco, and it is in a way surprising that Carpenè Malvolti waited so long to bring out their wine from the hillside's vineyards. It's pale papery yellow with brassy reflections and very fine very intense perlage, and has an elegant bouquet with apples laced with some crisp notes and slight apple acidity; the overall impression is one of considerable harmony. On the palate it's rich, with powerful apple fruit supported by mineral acidity that has some granny smith overtones and slight sweetness, not so much as to make it cloying -- by a long shot -- and it flows into along clean granny smith apple finish with slight sweetness. Quite nice, and will work very well as an aperitif, or with the meal; it's a wine that will drink very well with the meal and that will also be nice with friends far from the table, say when the stars are coming out as the sky darkens in summer.
90-91