Porta Leon: Prosecco Doc Brut

I might be cheating on this bottle.  I picked it up at the grocery store and I’ve seen it around.  So it should be easy to find.  However, at $3.99, this bottle is a single serving.  So I’m probably bending the wine blog rules here.  But rules are made to be broken.

I wanted to do a bubbly blog before New Years so when I saw the end cap display of these little bottles, I grabbed one.  As far as bubbly goes, I’m very, very particular.  Honestly, there aren’t many sparkling wines I truly enjoy.  I’ll almost always take a still wine over sparkling.

But I generally like Prosecco.  So it seems safe.

And once again I learn to think before I purchase.

The nose is average for a sparkling.  It’s very minerally and slightly sour.  Think green apples on a sour day.  But above all else, the mineral nose overrules.  It’s a bit over powering, really, which is one of the reasons I don’t love sparkling.  I have trouble identifying flavors in the nose.  I want the nose of a wine to take me on a journey.  This one makes me think about mineral water.  (Which, for the record, I don’t enjoy.)

The taste completely surprises me.  It’s Prosecco.  It should be sweet.  I love Prosecco with popcorn.  The salty/sweet is a fabulous evening treat.

This one is anything but sweet.  It makes me think about a California Sauvignon Blanc with bubbles.  It’s very tart, lots of sour apple, maybe a hint of pear.  If there’s any pear in it, then that’s the only sweetness to the wine.

Completely outside of my flavor pallet.  True, I prefer a Spanish sparkling called Cava, but usually I’ll drink Prosecco and be happy.  This one is too close to a more traditional champagne, which is a wine I don’t like.  Go figure.  A wine snob that doesn’t like champagne.