Pizzini Per Gli Angeli 2012

Christmas pudding in a glass is a more than apt description of this hypnotic dessert wine from Pizzini. Per Gli Angeli is Italian for 'For the Angels". Made in the Vin Santo style, when you consider the winemaking process, the angels seem to have taken their fair share too. This is simply sublime.

Given the complexity of the winemaking process, it's best described on the website: 

Fruit is harvested a little green and with an alcohol potential of about 9 - 10%. It is hand picked so there is minimal damage to the grapes. The fruit is then placed on racks to dry which can take up to 4 months.

Once the grapes have dried and look almost like sultanas they are pressed, this process takes about a week. Some of the juice is pressed out then is placed back over the dried grapes which helps them to re-hydrate and to extract some more lovely flavours, this process is repeated up to five times. Mixing the pressed juice with the skins also makes it easier to press. 

 The resulting juice has a potential alcohol of about 27%. After the final pressing, the juice is transferred to small 100 litre barrels where it is left to ferment for about two years and then age for a further three years before bottling.

Sure it's heavy on the hip pocket for a 375mL bottle ($125), but when you consider the effort that has gone into producing this wine, let alone the loss of volume. To put things in perspective, you can expect 70-75L of white wine from 100kg of fruit. Here, roughly 12-15L were bottled from 100kg of fruit. Add the labour, cost of new oak, storage for six years and you get a picture of why the pricing is up there.

But to the wine, what delight!

Glorious aromas of hazelnut, toffee and butterscotch slowly diffuse from the glass. You get a sense that something truly divine in your hand - it carries itself with poise. Syrupy and rich, caramel, sultana and an engaging nuttiness roll through the mouth slowly and with absolute ease. Silky smooth and rounded, a nip of dried orange appears on a long and incredibly persistent finish. A truly decadent wine that deserves a special occasion with those you cherish close by.

Drink to ten years+ 

96/100

Region: King Valley

RRP: $125
Source: Sample

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