Picolit
Butussi, Valentino. Picolit. Corno di Rosazzo. DOCG. 2006.
Valentino Butussi, the founder of the firm, was the father of Angelo now the head of the company, and one of four brothers. they farm 16 hectares and grow 15 different varietals of which their Picolit is probably their most famous.
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Picolit is a wine which is made from a proportion of grapes which have undergone appassimento — drying and concentrating. It is also unique in the wine world since the vine suffers from a defect known as floral abortion which is a major feature of the quality of the wine because it keeps yields down to a minimum. The harvest is always late - for example, they harvested their last grapes in 2008 at the end of October.
Botrytis, a fungus which s widely used in Sauternes, arrives only during the process of drying the grapes if at all. The sugar level of the grapes is high when first harvested, around 45%, but those left to mature on the wine reduce to around 32% and these are what are used to start the fermentation process, as it would be difficult with the high sugar levels otherwise. The barriques are put outside in the winter to stop refermentation. Picolit will age well over the first ten years in bottle. The Picolit DOCG area has existed only since 2006. Picolit must comprise 85% min.,The wine may not be commercialized before September following the harvest.
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