The Contratto 2014 Metodo Classico Special Cuvée Pas Dosé is very beautiful with generous fruit weight and a soft, medium to full-bodied style that feels especially bright and fresh in this cool vintage. The wine shows a gold-copper appearance, and the beading is very fine and silky. There is orange skin and bitter almond on the lovely finish.

This is more intense and concentrated with candied pineapples and peaches as well as hints of walnuts, almonds and pie crust. Full and dense with fine bubbles. Bone-dry with zingy acidity. Long and steady. Well made. Drink now.

Notes of dried apples, citrus rind, honeysuckle and toasted almonds. Medium- to full-bodied with vivid acidity and a savory fruit character. Fine mousse and round texture. Flavorful and satisfying with a mineral finish. Drink now.

The top-shelf sparkler from the historic Contratto brand is the 2013 Metodo Classico Special Cuvée Extra Brut. Packaged in a heavy bottle, this elegant white sparkler reveals faint hints of gold, followed by slow and fine beading. The bouquet brings intensity and intention with some dried peach, garden herb and crushed limestone. The wine is opulent and rich with yeasty tones at the back that add to its creamy texture and weight. In fact, that richness is almost too much of a good thing.

A softly layered and rich sparkling wine with thick layers of pastry crust and peach cobbler, complete with almond flakes and buttery highlights. This is a beautiful wine that hits many of the archetypal traits you look for in an aged, medium-bodied sparkler. The finish is full, generous, opulent and creamy.

Lots of cooked apples and peaches with toasted-oak and coconut character. Full body. Thick and flavorful. Very rich and intense. Drink now.

This wine sees seven long years of yeast contact. It celebrates the estate's 150th anniversary (1867-2017). The 2010 Metodo Classico Special Cuvée Pas Dosé is almost entirely Pinot Nero, with a 5% part of Chardonnay from the same site that makes La Spinetta's Lidia. This is a big picture sparkling wine, that when reviewed in its entirety reveals extraordinary balance, intensity and purity. These excellent attributes are lavished over the wine's generously full-bodied approach. Best of all, there is a perfect level of ripeness here that tastes sweet and salty at the same time.

Rich and decadent nose that shows dried apricots, dried lemons and pie crust. Caramel and sweet hazelnuts, too. Refined bubbles, a creamy texture and a crisp and lively finish. Drink or hold.

This is a vinous and dense sparkling wine that gives you an impression of a rich white with bubbles. Full-bodied, layered and flavorful. A fresh finish. I like the playfulness and intensity of this. Drink now.