Castello Bonomi Franciacorta Dosage Zero 2013

Cellar for up to 8 years. Serve chilled.

According to local tradition, the very first sparkling wines were produced in the Franciacorta region in the 13th century, some four centuries before Champagne was first made in northern France. Small communities of Benedictine monks began to grow grapes and make wine here in the Middle Ages, planting the roots of a thriving industry that endures to this day.

Today Castello Bonomi has a well-deserved reputation for exceptional sparkling wines made using the traditional method, the same process used by their rivals in Champagne. The estate is named after the magnificent Art Nouveau chateau built on the property at the end of the 19th century by Antonio Tagliaferri. Castello Bonomi’s vines are located on the slopes of Monte Orfano at some 275 metres above sea level, helping to produce perfectly-balanced fruit with plenty of freshness and aromatics.

This stunning cuvee is composed of equal parts of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with very gentle pressing in the winery to extract only the finest quality juice. The juice is then fermented separately, with the Chardonnay fermented in small oak barrels for 8 months and the Pinot in steel tanks for 8 months. The secondary fermentation then takes place in the bottle with 50 months of ageing on the lees. It is then bottled without any added sugar to create a crisp, refreshing sparkling wine with a bright acidity and refined citrus fruit and orchard fruit notes.