Frascati

Frascati is the most famous and quantitatively most important of the Castelli Romani wines. However, the production has declined rapidly in recent years. There are currently about 180,000 hl produced in favourable vintages, from 2,600 ha of vineyards.

Frascati is famous to the countless foreign visitors to Rome, who often visit to appreciate the charms of the town of Frascati, with the beautiful villas, gardens, fountains and boulevards. It is very close to Rome, only about 24km away, with many weekend and summer visitors from Rome contributing to the local economy.

The wine is a blend of Malvasia and Trebbiano, a simple but sound commercial product. There is a lightly sweet version as well as a sweet one, which is made from botrytised grapes. The declining demand puts pressure on the growers to focus more on quality but the general mentality is still on quantity.

I have recently tasted a 2009 Fontella Frascati Superiore and below is my tasting notes:

Acceptable quality Frascati of light lemon color, the nose is fairly intense but quite simple, showing youthful aromas of cream and butter, ripe apple and lime, honeysuckle and ginger. Fairly high in acidity, the wine is of medium body with reasonable concentration of fairly simple flavors of cream and butter, ripe apple and lemon, acacia. Finishing with a fairly short length, the wine is in balance and ready to drink, but not intend for ageing.