Last week I bought a bottle of Moncalvina Moscato d'Asti 2006 that was reg. $19.99 being closed out for $9.99.  The $19.99 price got my attention because it's one of the highest prices I've seen for a moscato.  As for the sale, maybe the store was trying to clear out space for newer vintages?  2006 is getting up there for a moscato, and I'm sure 2008's are well on their way to America by now.

 I think one of the great mysteries of wine is, to what extent does price correlate to quality?  Well, in this case there was a strong correlation because this expensive moscato was awesome.  It had a really pleasant sappy, foxy grape character that lingered in the long aftertaste.  It tasted super fresh and the sweetness was perfectly balanced.  You completely forget its a sweet wine and instead focus on the intriguing secondary flavor.  This definitely made me want to keep pouring.  For me this moscato pushed the upper limits of what heights a moscato can achieve.  

Actually, this was not the first time I've had an expensive moscato.  I've had the Vietti Moscato d'Asti (about $18/btl) and I really liked that too: it was very rich and had a creamy quality, you could kind of tell it was a notch up in quality.  But I liked this Moncalvina better, it had more of a fresh fruit character; it gave me more of a feeling that I was experiencing the quality of the raw grapes.

 All this makes me wonder, how much better does it get in the world of moscato, and how much do the world's most expensive moscatos cost?  How high does it get?  What's the maximum you'd pay for a moscato d'asti?  I think I would easily shell out $30 for one of the world's top moscatos.  I'd pay $30 for a decent NV Champagne, why not $30 for an amazing moscato?