historical notes
Cuvée des Paladins is named after the 12 loyal knights of the great King of the Franks and later first Emperor of the Romans: Charlemagne. Towards the end of the 1700s, with the agrarian reform, he promoted a rapid renewal of viticulture that had declined with the crisis of the Roman Empire. This great innovative process may have caused Erbaluce to come from the Rhone Valley or vice versa to migrate from the Canavese all the way there in the wake of Lombard troops. A fascinating legend that deserved to be remembered with this Cuvée des Paladins. Local Canavese history, on the other hand, testifies that the production of sparkling wine was from ancient times a traditional local practice to produce small quantities of sparkling wine to be used to celebrate family festive occasions. To the wine they added sugar or much more frequently must from the grape harvest or passito and this was enough to start the re-fermentation in the bottle of an ancestral sparkling wine. Sometimes this “mosso wine” was also flavored with a few peach leaves.
In the cellar
Erbaluce di Caluso sparkling wine Cuvée des Paladins comes from an initial fermentation of the must carried out partly in steel and partly in exhausted barriques. The base wine after a few months of rest is ready for sparkling. In the spring following the harvest, the pied-de-cuve is prepared, which will initiate the prise de mousse by activating the refermentation in the bottle, all in a temperature-controlled environment. This procedure is essential for the formation of the finest perlage. The elevage-sur-lies phase lasts at least 60 months until ideal maturity is achieved. After a slow passage on pupitres the sparkling wine is ready for disgorgement, which usually takes place in spring. A subsequent rest of a few months completes the profile of Cuvée des Paladins and makes it ready for optimal consumption.
Tasting
Cuvée des Paladins is characterized by a beautiful straw-yellow color
and delicate golden reflections. Of particular vivacity and
brilliance it already denotes at the sight the presence of an important
freshness. The perlage is very fine, elegant and persistent.
The nose is expressed with ripe and complex aromas, with intense
notes of aromatic herbs and chalk, accompanied by very light
hints of bread crust and dried fruit. On the palate, it presents itself with
elegance and freshness, it is full and enveloping with a pleasant
citrus note. Long and soft with a finish played on more
sweetness of honey, vanilla and hazelnut and a distinct minerality.
Pairings
Erbaluce spumante Cuvée des Paladins is particularly versatile and pairs well with both elaborate hors d’oeuvres, with cured meats and cheeses, vegetable risottos, seafood first courses, soups and especially with fried seafood and land dishes, vegetables and herbs in tempura and with particularly tasty fish dishes such as seafood soups, caciucchi, baked and pan-fried fish. An all-meal wine capable of accompanying recipes from the most elaborate cuisines both innovative and traditional.
