Sugar, sugar

Bera 2006 Canelli “Arcese” (Piedmont) – Tastes like muscat, smells like muscat, but it’s not muscat, it’s favorita, cortese, and arneis. So, then: it’s floral and bubbly/spicy (no actual bubbles), with a bit of sweat but little toil. Eminently appealing at first sip, yet there’s a difficult component that not everyone will get past. I love it, because it takes muscattish obviousness and brings to it more complexity and balance than is the norm. And still, no muscat. It’s almost hard to believe. Fun wine. (7/08)