2016 Franciacorta Dosage Zero

Full bottle 1,967 g. 65% Chardonnay, 22% Pinot Nero, 13% Pinot Bianco. 18 Chardonnay vineyards planted an average of 32 years ago located in the municipalities of Erbusco, Adro, Cazzago San Martino, Corte Franca and Passirano. Three Pinot Bianco vineyards planted an average of 28 years ago located in the municipality of Passirano. Seven Pinot Nero vineyards planted an average of 30 years ago located in the municipalities of Erbusco and Passirano. 48 months sur lattes. TA 6.1 g/l, pH 3.08, total added sulphites 58 mg/l. Disgorged autumn 2020. Very heavy bottle! Delicate florals and bergamot on the nose, and equally delicate on the palate. Fine-knit bubbles, a very subtle note of shortbread, but the bergamot and lemon fruit on the palate is shaped more by light, attractive bitterness than autolysis. The finish is distinctive, not for how 'linearly' long it is, but for the gentle way it seems to draw a rippling-out circle that seems to fill the mouth after the wine itself has gone. Not as austere as many zero-dosage fizzes. (TC)