Brett happens

Veneto 2011, Dolce Racrei, Davide Spillare ($40.00, private import, 6 bottles/case)
100% Garganega from organically farmed (though apparently not certified as such) vines. Manually harvested and placed on wooden frames for about four months to partially raisinate. Fermented in stainless steel tanks with indigenous yeasts for six months. The wine is then bottled unfiltered, unfined and with no added sulphur. In the spring and summer, as the cellar warms up, the wine resumes fermenting, converting some of the residual sugar into alcohol, producing carbon dioxide gas as a by-product and thereby creating the sparkle (see méthode ancestral). 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV/Insolite.
Hazy pale gold with a fine bead. Intriguing, aromatic nose: orange marzipan, brioche, pear clafoutis and a whiff of something lactic. In the mouth, it’s a softly effervescent middleweight, a tad sweeter than demi-sec but with the sugar checked by abundant acidity. Flavours? Baked apple dominates, hay field and chalk chime in. An orange wine-like hint of bitter tannins colour the finish. Odd but interesting – a great way to end a great tasting. (Buy again? Sure.)