Someone has evocatively described it as “a white wine for winter.” Others refer to it as a “red disguised as white.” What is certain is that the Busocaldo, the anomalous Lugana signed by Pasini San Giovanni winery, has become a small “case” for wine lovers: that is why it has become the protagonist of a vertical tasting (from the first 2006 production to that of 2012), organized by Paolo Pasini in the winery in Raffa di Puegnago with the idea of telling the most intimate nature of a wine that aims to represent the territory from a new angle, through a more adult and mature view that is also an alternative to the classic Lugana variations available on the market today.
“Busocaldo is based on a sort of philosophical relationship between liquid and solid in the wine – says Pasini -. We have a noble grape, a magnificent area, a white wine which is enjoying huge success all over the world, but which is at 90% known in its most fresh and immediate classic version. We decided to go in a different direction, trying to exploit what we can call the noblest fermentation sediments of the wine without using clarification the way that is typical in the production process of the base type. ”
Fundamental in Busocaldo is the use of batonnage technique, which is to keep the wine on the lees in percentages and timing variables through the constant agitation of the liquid to re-float the solids, which tend to sink to the bottom.
“I like to imagine this fermentation sediments as the experience of every single person – says Pasini -. The result is a wine which we imagine as adult, complex, deep, rich, more multifaceted, that demands attention and continues to improve in the bottle. ” The year 2009 is currently on the market, but a Lugana of six years is nothing new for a wine whose unusual longevity have been authoritatively praised (and in distant times) by Luigi Veronelli.
Importantly, the grapes for the Busocaldo arrive from the same vineyard which provides those for the normal Lugana of the company: the family chooses the best tank on the mass, but in the Busocaldo version the wine develops a product with completely different note, much more mineral, with warm perfumes of baking and pastry.
“Its nature is not oxidative but reductive – explains Paolo -. The noble sediments offer an endless possibility to absorb oxygen, and this tends to keep the product always very young although the timing varies with each harvest. For example, the tasting currently reveals that 2012 is perhaps more ready than 2011, and who knows, maybe it could also come out before: why not? ”
For sure, be it 2011 or 2012, the new Busocaldo will debut in the classic bottle of the Pasini line (left in photo), in limited quantities (about 2000 pieces), still brought to the attention of those tasters who will want to approach a completely different Lugana. Try with dishes with truffles, tagliatelle with mushrooms, but also snails and aged cheeses. An experience not to be missed.
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