Moscato di Scanzo

Moscato di Scanzo is a Moscato nero grown exclusively in few municipalities of Valcalepio, in the province of Bergamo, in Lombardy. It apparently come to these areas by Roman legionaries who, after the Gallic military campaign, obtained some plots of land in these valleys as a reward for their service. A fine and elegant red that loves the excellent exposure of the Bergamo hillside and its characteristic "sass de la luna", grey-blue calcareous-marly soil, Moscato di Scanzo has a very aristocratic history, being particularly suited to withering and long ageing.

Cited in 1347 in a bequest from Alberico da Rosciate, in 1398 this was the spoils of the local Guelphs of 42 carts of grapes. Quarenghi, a famous neoclassical Lombard architect, gave some to the Tsarina Catherine II of Russia, when the Bergamo nectar, according to some testimonies, was the most expensive wine in the world, so much so that it was listed on the London Stock Exchange. After minimum two-years ageing in the cellar, moscato di Scanzo DOCG (but it can also be produced as Valcalepio DOC) is today intense ruby red, with ample and complex aromas of sage, candied wart, dog rose, sweet spices, morello cherry, sage and undergrowth. Already when young it presents tertiary notes such as tobacco and chocolate that evolve and amplify with ageing, evolving towards balsamic and ethereal. With a balanced and elegant taste, it expresses a sweetness that is never disharmonious, and is soft, velvety, full-bodied and with incredible persistence.