Breaking the Rules with Bellenda

From Valdobbiadene in the heart of Prosecco country, I was intrigued to see Bellenda’s press information suggesting their wines “break the rules.” This small tasting, however, did show Prosecco that is somewhat out of the ordinary. The wines included a hazy and unfiltered col fondo wine and two wines not made by Prosecco’s ubiquitous charmat or ‘tank method’ of production, but with traditional secondary fermentation in bottle.

A Family Affair

Bellenda was founded by the Cosmo family in 1986. They are based in the hills of Carpesica in Treviso. Carpesica is one of 43 ‘Rives’, distinctive hillsides within the Conegliano-Valdobbiandene Superiore region that may be named as special ‘crus’ on labels, with a minimum of 85% of grapes coming from the named Rive. The two examples of Rive Carpesica here are made by the ‘traditional method’, with second fermentation in individual bottles. That’s extremely rare in Prosecco, the wines spending up to 36 month on the lees before disgorgement.

I attended an online tasting with Umberto Cosmo, where he concentrated on his specific terroir and the house’s unique approach to Prosecco production. Umberto says he encountered so much scepticism about making Prosecco by the traditional method from other producers, but points out that the charmat method was only developed in the 1930s, and the area made sparkling wines long before that. Those must have been made with second fermentation in bottle, though the big difference he points out is that then the wines had 30 – 50g/l of sugar. Today, his Sei Uno has just 2g/l. “Sugar,” he says, “can hide a lot of faults in a sparkling wine.”

Here in their higher location there are large temperature shifts with up to 20°C difference between day and night. But this is the north of Italy and that can also present a real danger from forst or hail at times: “but there’s nothing we can do about that,” says Umberto with a shrug and a smile.

Bellenda is based in the east of Conegliano-Valdobbiadene, on some of the younger soils, but soils rich in limestone. Around 80% of their vineyard is planted to Glera, the single grape of white Prosecco. The other 20% includes red grapes for the production of still red wine (Colli di Conegliano Rosso) as well as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir for classic method sparkling wines. As Prosecco must be 85% Glera, such wines are not bottled as Prosecco DOCG.

The family’s environmental credentials appear to be very sound, with no herbicides used, pruning residue recovered and used for energy, the winery run almost entirely on solar power and special attention paid to biodiversity, including the retention of large areas of forest within the estate borders.

The Wines

I thought this was a particulary good selection of Prosecco wines – some of the best I have tasted. Even in their tank-method San Fermo, arguably the most ‘typical’ of modern day Prosecco styles, there is so much more complexity and elegance than the standard supermarket £10 bottle.

(2024) Un-filtered 'pet nat' style with its slight yeast haze, undisgorged so a little sediment in the bottom of the bottle. The name means "As it is," in other words, made with minimal process. It has only 2g/l of residual sugar and a frizzante level of sparkle at around half the pressure of regular Prosecco Spumante. A very inviting, lightly meaty and earthy nose, some yellow apple, the pear and floral fruit of the grape subsumed by those yeasty aromas. On the palate it is very dry and has a zipping lemony freshness, and while Umberto  Cosmo's description of it as an informal wine to drink with friends, I have to say I found it appetising and delicious. No UK retail stockists listed at time of review.
(2024) From limestone-clay soils rich in deposits from the ancient Piave glacier, this is 100% Glera with a low 6.5g/l dosage. Umberto Cosmo points out that this level of sugar was once standard, but as some people made wine from less ripe fruit, they upped the sugar to compensate, and led to the higher levels that are now common. Here the fresh pear-like fruit sings from the glass, with some higher, floral notes, but then I find a touch of umami that along with very good acidity gives a gastronomic facet than many Proseccos lack. This is kept on the lees a little longer than many, which may account for that.
(2024) This comes from the Rive di Carpesica hillside. Unusually for Prosecco, the second fermenation here is in individual bottles over 18 months. It is Extra Brut with just 2g/l of residual sugar. With a steady stream of miniscule bubbles a biscuity note of autolysis is just apparent, adding a suggestion of a nutty, fudge-like element to the bright, floral and fruity character. The palate is bone-dry, the citrus acidity ensuring that, and yet the fruit sweetness of the Glera and the overall feeling of lightness sets the tone for the usual Prosecco character given a subtle added herbal and nutty complexity. No UK retail stockist listed at time of review.
(2024) From the Rive di Carpesica and made with traditional, in-bottle secondary fermentation. The wine stayed on the lees for almost three years, based on the 2018 vintage and disgorged in 2021. This a 'Extra Dry', the somewhat counter-intuitive name for Prosecco bottled with more residual sugar than Brut, in this case 26g/l. I felt that sugar actually suited this tradtional method Prosecco, the sweetness also seeming to enhance the light toastiness of the long bottle ageing that was barely evident in the Sei Uno. Here there is sweetness, a touch of bran-like character and then a flood of sweet pear fruit. Good acidity in a Prosecco that definitely shows a bit of added depth. Perhaps a little too sweet for my palate as an aperitif wine, but could match with Chineses or spicier cuisines rather well.

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