Camillo Donati - Il Mio Malvasia Rosa, 2018
The Donati estate is a small family business located 20 kilometres away from Parma, in the Emilia-Romagna region of North Italy. The winery was founded in 1930 and it’s now run by the third generation of winemakers – which includes Camillo Donati. The Donati family uses organic and biodynamic principles in the vineyard. Camillo specialises in low intervention sparkling wines produced with the “Ancestrale” method. This winemaking technique predates the Champagne method and the wine is bottled before fermentation has completed.
In the glass, the wine has an onion skin hue, with a creamy, fizzy surface. On the nose, it has a medium intensity of flavours. The wine starts subtle and delicate. It exhibits red fruit in the attack, white and red cherry, strawberry, lime leaves and a touch of grapefruit. Lovely herbal and flowery suggestions, redolent of earth can be sensed in the background.
On the palate, the wine is delicately frothy, jovial and refreshing. Light to medium in body, this rosé is dangerously drinkable (some people might call this a “glou-glou” wine – whatever that means…). In the attack, there is wild red fruit and orange zest, followed by a floral finish. A really pretty wine. It’s unpretentious, fresh, energetic, lovely and balanced. There is perhaps a touch of residual sugar, but it’s nicely offset by a good acidity.