Prié Blanc

Native to Valle d’Aosta, but according to some native to the Valais, prié blanc is the grape that reaches the highest altitudes in Europe, up to 1250 metres, in the Morgex and Salle area. It is cultivated as an ungrafted vine on heroic terraces in upper Valdigne, thanks to the fact that, at such altitudes, phylloxera cannot survive. Late for sprouting and early for ripening, it escapes both spring frosts and the first autumn snows. It is usually grown using the low pergola method to protect the bunches and put them in more direct contact with the soil, so that at night they absorb the heat accumulated during the day. It has a straw-yellow colour with greenish reflections and the bouquet gives off mountain herbs and hay, although the most characteristic fragrance is mineral. On the palate it stands out for its marked acidity and its delicate, almost evanescent but very elegant structure, sometimes enriched by resting in steel on the lees. It is also very good in more refined forms: from traditional spumante method, even with very long ageing on the lees, and from late harvest in the icewine version, as Morgex is one of the very rare Italian areas where this type can express itself correctly.