FreeZante Aligote 2021 – a wine for the Holidays
Today, December 1st, begins the most beautiful time of the year: the time when we all enjoy more time with our loved ones, time for ourselves and time for the Holidays. So if it’s the biginning of a month full of occasions to celebrate, today I propose you a wine that goes very well with these days.
FreeZante Aligote from the 2021 harvest is a sparkling wine released by Caii de la Letea Winery at the end of summer. As I only tried this wine in October, when the summer days were long gone, I thought it would be most appropriate to tell you about this wine around a Holiday. As December comes with Romania National Day (December 1st), St. Nicholas (December 6th), Christmas (December 25th and 26th), as well as the New Year, here is the occasion I was waiting for.
Made only from Aligote grapes from the 2021 harvest, it is a sparkling white wine, slightly effervescent (bottle pressure is 2.5 bars). It is a fresh, light wine, its effervescence (resulting exclusively from its own fermentation process) making it very suitable to be enjoyed at any time of the day, both on its own and with something to eat.
FreeZante Aligote from the 2021 harvest is a sparkling wine released by Caii de la Letea Winery at the end of summer. As I only tried this wine in October, when the summer days were long gone, I thought it would be most appropriate to tell you about this wine around a Holiday. As December comes with Romania National Day (December 1st), St. Nicholas (December 6th), Christmas (December 25th and 26th), as well as the New Year, here is the occasion I was waiting for.
Made only from Aligote grapes from the 2021 harvest, it is a sparkling white wine, slightly effervescent (bottle pressure is 2.5 bars). It is a fresh, light wine, its effervescence (resulting exclusively from its own fermentation process) making it very suitable to be enjoyed at any time of the day, both on its own and with something to eat.
With a peach yellow color, the wine stands out for its citrus notes in the smell. Very ripe tangerines, apricots, apricot kernels, peaches, beautifully complement the aromas of white summer flowers (linden blossoms, wildflowers), gooseberries and yellow apples.
Taste: the wine is dry, the aromas that are felt from the beginning are those of citrus fruits, gooseberries and white flowers. The wine is fresh, with high acidity, medium (+) aftertaste. The taste is slightly crunchy, it makes me think of adding some food to it.
The mousse is light and long and the alcohol is 12%.
When tasting this wine, I also did an experiment: I tasted the same wine from a glass of sparkling wine, but also from a glass of white wine precisely to observe the differences. The difference I felt most clearly is in the smell: the wine tasted in the sparkling glass had more intense aromas than in the white wine glass. At the same time, I felt the wine was tastier when I tried it from the wine glass without the sparkling wine glass.
The wine was enjoyed starting at 7 degrees Celsius also to observe its aromas. At 7 degrees, the tangerine aromas were more intense, and as the wine warmed slightly and reached 10 degrees, more peach was felt, as well as the richness of aromas described above on the nose.
I would pair this wine with soft cheeses, but also with boeuf salad, for example, which I know we always find on the Christmas table.
Have an inspiring day!
Carmina Nițescu
Winesday.ro & Winesday App
Taste: the wine is dry, the aromas that are felt from the beginning are those of citrus fruits, gooseberries and white flowers. The wine is fresh, with high acidity, medium (+) aftertaste. The taste is slightly crunchy, it makes me think of adding some food to it.
The mousse is light and long and the alcohol is 12%.
When tasting this wine, I also did an experiment: I tasted the same wine from a glass of sparkling wine, but also from a glass of white wine precisely to observe the differences. The difference I felt most clearly is in the smell: the wine tasted in the sparkling glass had more intense aromas than in the white wine glass. At the same time, I felt the wine was tastier when I tried it from the wine glass without the sparkling wine glass.
The wine was enjoyed starting at 7 degrees Celsius also to observe its aromas. At 7 degrees, the tangerine aromas were more intense, and as the wine warmed slightly and reached 10 degrees, more peach was felt, as well as the richness of aromas described above on the nose.
I would pair this wine with soft cheeses, but also with boeuf salad, for example, which I know we always find on the Christmas table.
Have an inspiring day!
Carmina Nițescu
Winesday.ro & Winesday App