10 Dec Please The Palate Wine of the Week: Forteto della Luja Pasucrà 2024 Piemonte Moscato Secco DOC

Moscato is usually synonymous with sweet, which is why I was so surprised when I tasted Forteto della Luja’s Pasucrà. It is a wine that defies the typical expectation of Moscato sweetness and is unique and unexpected. Completely dry, with no residual sugar, it was utterly delicious. That is why the Forteto della Luja Pasucrà 2024 Piemonte Moscato Secco DOC is the Please The Palate Wine of the Week.

About Forteto della Luja

In Piemonte, where tradition runs eight generations deep, Forteto della Luja crafts wines that honor both heritage and nature. Nestled in the last village before the sea, they are located in Loazzolo, the smallest DOC in Italy, home to only 6 hectares and 10 producers. Their vineyards are a rare jewel: 75–85-year-old vines on steep 45° slopes, worked entirely by hand with horses. The estate sits within a WWF-protected area, home to 21 species of wild orchids, butterflies, frogs, and other bioindicators, proof of thriving, healthy soils. This is a family that truly works in harmony with the land. Their soils are calcareous, their exposures ideal, and diurnal temperature shifts are significant, all of which contribute to the precision and elegance in the glass. They harvest in three passes, picking late to achieve perfect ripeness, and employ native yeasts maintained for over a century to ferment their wines naturally. Giovanni Scaglione is the eighth generation in the family and lives on the estate with his wife Cristina and children.

Pasucrà, a Piemontese dialect term meaning “not sweet”, is Piemonte’s first Moscato Secco with DOC status. However, it is not a new wine. Dry, still Moscato is actually an ancient wine. The peasant tradition was to “filter sweet” and as the summer months passed, the wine would become dry.

Tasting Notes

The grapes were harvested ripe, but not overripe. The grapes were crushed and left on the skins in cold maceration for 24 hours before being softly pressed and then fermented natively until the wine is completely dry. The 2024 Pasucrà Moscato Secco is a golden yellow color. The nose offers aromas of stone and citrus fruits, fresh floral notes, and minerality. While an aromatic wine, it is a bit more restrained than Moscato d’Asti. It reminded me of  Viognier or Gewurztraminer, two varieties that offer intense aromatics but are dry on the palate. The time spent on the skins adds texture and depth to the wine. On the palate, the wine has notes of stone fruit skins, intense acidity, and a saline finish.

Food Pairing

The fresh acidity and minerality of the wine makes it a great pairing with fresh oysters and sushi.

Where To Purchase

I had the pleasure to taste this wine while visiting Forteto della Luja on my trip to Asti. Forteto della Luja has some small importers that bring their wine into the US and hopefully the Moscato Secco Pasucrà will be one of the wines we can find.