Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Very fine and complex candied-citrus aromas, the creaminess from yeast contact beautifully matched with the elegance from the base wine, to create a silky whole that glides effortlessly over your palate.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A pure expression of Chardonnay, the 2014 Franciacorta Brut Satèn is a downplayed and extremely delicate sparkling wine. The finessed and subtle nature of the wine is further reinforced by the cool and moist characteristics of the 2014 vintage (that generally resulted in thinner, lighter wines). This expression is aged in a combination of steel and barrique. Once the cuvée is established, the wine ages in bottle for four years. This results in a delicate bouquet that is accented by candied lemon, almond, grapefruit and freshly baked bread.
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.
Containing an exciting mix of wine producing subregions, Lombardy is Italy’s largest in size and population. Good quality Pinot noir, Bonarda and Barbera have elevated the reputation of the plains of Oltrepò Pavese. To its northeast in the Alps, Valtellina is the source of Italy’s best Nebbiolo wines outside of Piedmont. Often missed in the shadow of Prosecco, Franciacorta produces collectively Italy’s best Champagne style wines, and for the fun and less serious bubbly, find Lambrusco Mantovano around the city of Mantua. Lugana, a dry white with a devoted following, is produced to the southwest of Lake Garda.