Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Vinous
The 2020 Brut Franciacorta Milledì is distinctly savory, with a burst of exotic spices and white smoke giving way to a whiff of crushed apricots. It floods the palate with silken bubbles contrasted by a core of zesty acidity and a salty flourish that resonates toward the close. This comes across as rich yet energetic, with a spine of saline tension and hints of sour citrus that pucker the cheeks throughout the finish.
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.