Hey French You Could Have Made This Wine But You Didn’t is a wine with a very long name and more than a bit of attitude. This new wine, made by Pasqua in northeastern Italy’s Veneto region, is a multi-vintage blend of Garganega along with Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon. It comes with a graffiti-inspired label similar to the PassioneSentimento wines that are also part of Pasqua’s ICON line of wines. We received this wine as a tasting sample.
This first edition of Hey French is a blend of Garganega, Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon from the best 4 vintages of the last decade: 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017. For each year selected, the vinification of white grapes takes place with maceration on the skins for about 10 hours. Alcoholic fermentation is initiated with selected yeasts at low temperatures. Partial malolactic fermentation follows with approximately 10% of the wine in barriques. The process continues with aging in second-use wood for about 6 months and then stainless steel tanks.
The vineyards are located in several areas on the Veronese side of Mount Calvarina, in the easternmost part of the Soave region.
Pasqua Vigneti e Cantine was established in 1925 by two brothers and soon moved from retail to making wine with the purchase of vineyards. Subsequent generations of the Pasqua family have built upon the brothers’ initial efforts and the Verona-based Pasqua now makes a broad portfolio of wines sourced from the region.
Pasqua Hey French Bianco, Multi-Vintage – Edizione 1, Veneto IGT, Italy — medium golden in the glass with generous aromas of ripe pears, grilled pineapple, white flowers and oat hay. Flavors follow the aromas with pears, oat hay, lemony citrus and gravelly minerality. Toasty notes add depth of flavor and linger on the finish with a bit of tannin. 13.5% abv. SRP $40
Flavors are layered and interesting. It’s easy sipping on its own and will pair nicely with a bowl of pasta or roasted chicken. I love the graffiti-inspired label, and have no problem with the multi-vintage approach, but the wine bottle is unnecessarily heavy.
Thanks to Creative Palate Communications for sending this wine our way.
Cheers!
