Sometimes, in the varied world of wine, it happens that the owner of a large Venetian industrial group, Diotisalvi Perin, lover of nature and good wine, decides to take the risk and turn his passion into a fascinating wine project. Diotisalvi did so initially with a company, Antiche Terre dei Conti, engaged in an organic production at 360 degrees, and today converted to the production of ancient grains and flour. The dream of producing organic and biodynamic quality wine, far from being over, continues in a new reality that we could define the spin-off of Antiche Terre dei Conti, the homonymous Società Agricola Diotisalvi.
Today Diotisalvi winery is led by his son Simone Perin and continues to pursue the aim of producing quality wines in Colfosco di Susegana, less than 10 kilometers from Conegliano, the beating heart of Prosecco in the province of Treviso. The vineyards (previously owned by Antiche Terre dei Conti) have been cultivated, for over 15 years, according to the organic disciplinary but this did not seem sufficient to preserve the health of the land, and therefore, a few years ago, it has also chosen to adopt the biodynamic philosophy, certified by Demeter since 2020. In this regard, with the aim of conducting a simpler and more effective communication of organic and biodynamic wine making techniques, on 31 August 2018 the winery was among the founding members of the Treviso based #Bio consortium.
The ecological vocation, however, does not stop only at the vineyards, and in fact the cellar techniques are constantly updated with processing protocols that differ for every single vine and every single parcel. It is precisely to enhance this vision that it was chose to use aging containers of different sizes and different materials, all located below ground level, in the fertile belly of the earth. Finally, at the end of the production process, berries, skins and stems are sent to an energy recovery structure to ferment and produce methane-rich gases, capable of generating electricity, with the final residues used as organic fertilizer; a circular path without waste.
Within the production range of this company it was obviously impossible not to offer Prosecco wines and, among them, stands out this Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG Rive di Farra di Soligo “Empatico”, obtained from a vineyard of one hectare, within one of the 40 parcels that enjoy this particular denomination, composed of plants of 40/50 years of Glera grapes exposed to the south. It is worth mentioning that the term Rive refers to a prestigious and particular type of lands, the total extent of which cannot be subject to increase, characterized by terraces so steep as to require the practice of “heroic” viticulture. These grapes, once harvested in crates in late September, with a relative selection in plant, are gently pressed to obtain a yield that never exceeds 55% of their weight. The must macerates cold for about 12 hours before fermenting naturally, thanks to the action of indigenous yeasts, and the obtained wine is left to be refermented in an autoclave with a long Martinotti Method (about 10 months) before bottling and marketing.
The 2020 vintage, in biodynamic conversion (will be definitively certified with the vintage 2021), shows a rather light straw color, with a fine-caliber perlage and an olfactory fan that opens on notes of Conference pear, litchi, kumquat and chlorophyll, followed by hawthorn, bread crust, strawberry tree honey and a slight hint of hydrocarbon. The palate has a savory attack that slowly progresses towards the acid/citrus component; all accompanied by the refined perlage massage and the return of citrus and the slight hint of hydrocarbon on which notes closes a remarkable length sip.
Rating: 89/100
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