Tenuta l'Armonia Frizzi Pop 2018

Frizzi Pop is a pet-nat frizzante made from 60% Pinot Nero and 40% Durella grown on volcanic soils in the Vicenza hills around Montecchio Maggiore. Vines range from 10 to 50 years old. The grapes are hand-harvested in early September, destemmed, and soft-pressed directly without skin contact. Pinot Nero and Durella ferment separately in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks kept below 30°C (85°F) over 8 to 10 months, using only wild ambient yeasts.

Before bottling, a portion of frozen must from the same 2018 vintage is added to each bottle to supply the residual sugar needed for secondary fermentation. The wine referments in bottle in the traditional colfondo style, a method native to the Veneto, and is never disgorged. The result is a lightly cloudy, fine-perlage sparkling wine with zero added SO2, unfined and unfiltered. Total sulfites remain below 20 mg/L.

The color is a pale rose-gold with a faint copper tint, the result of gentle pressing of the Pinot Nero rather than maceration. On the nose: stone fruit marmalade, dried red berries, and mineral lift from the basalt-rich volcanic soils. The palate is lean, crisp, and lively at 11.5% ABV, with the Durella's naturally sharp acidity keeping everything taut.