NV Masottina Prosecco di Treviso DOC Italy 750 ml

The NV Masottina Prosecco di Treviso arrived on our doorstep crowned with the kind of critical acclaim that’s usually reserved for the world’s best sparkling wines—aristocratic Champagnes or artisanal Franciacortas.

With a 96-point score lavished by the 2017 Decanter World Wine Awards on a Prosecco that costs a pittance, we were left wondering if the bottle could really live up to the hype. If it truly merited that kind of excitement, we had a remarkable sparkler deal on our hands.

The judges had fallen hard for the shining light of Treviso, describing “a mineral-drenched palate” and concluding: “Great length and depth of flavor. Classy!”

Our tasting, accompanied by a plate of paper-thin prosciutto and a mound of burrata, confirmed what seemed like an impossibility—here was sparkling wine glory! This Masottina release is proof that in the best hands, Prosecco has the angularity, purity, and authenticity that we associate with the most cellar-worthy Blanc de Blancs.

Complete and harmonic on the palate, this Prosecco is clean and fresh with beautiful tones of white flowers, green apple, grapefruit peel, green plum, and lemon blossoms. The palate is elegant and lifted with a fine mousse that leaves the palate clean and refreshed. A bright, fleeting finish leaves behind a sense of cohesion and levity.

At this price, you don’t need a special occasion to merit popping a cork. Do as the great restaurants do, and greet your next dinner guest with a glass at the table. Or pour it Wednesday night to give leftovers a buoyant lift. It elevates any evening at a stress-free price.

The Dal Bianco family, a local institution of the region since founding in 1946, is responsible for producing this Prosecco’s finesse and clean linearity. Adriano and his brothers, as well as Adriano’s sons Filippo, Federico, and Edoardo, work some of the greatest terroir in Gorgo al Monticano, where vines cling to the rolling green hills surrounding the famous Strada di Prosecco, or Prosecco Road.

The Glera grape, grown in clay soils, is harvested possessing a pristine acidity—the region’s hallmark, and a quality safeguarded throughout the vinification process. A gravity-flow system ensures grapes are handled with the utmost gentleness, pressed very slowly to capture every sun-ripened nuance present in the fruit. To keep the natural freshness intact, the Prosecco is finished off in stainless steel tanks.

It’s an estate and an approach to making Italy’s best-known sparkler that merits the whopping 96-point score, without question. What makes this wine unbelievable is our price—a huge value for a wine that dazzles the palate with life and energy.