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Top 10 Franciacortas
Occupying a peak position in Italy’s sparkling wine pyramid is Franciacorta, a bottle-fermented fizz from Lombardy that’s made primarily with Chardonnay. Following an extensive ‘blind tasting’ earlier this month, we pick out 10 of the best.
Berlucchi Guido, Franciacorta Franco Ziliani, 2008
- Grapes: 100% Chardonnay
- Dosage: 0g/l
- ABV: 12%
- Price band: £100+
A fantastic top-end and long-lees aged Franciacorta, this fine expression from Berlucchi shows the quality of pure Chardonnay-based fizz in this part of the sparkling wine world. There’s mango, melon and pineapple notes to bring ripeness, along with some tangy citrus to make one salivate, while the fruit flavours are complemented by characters of honey and hazelnut, in this intense and bone-dry drop, with its persistent and delicate bubbles.
Ca’ del Bosco, Franciacorta Riserva Dosage Zéro Annamaria Clementi, 2013
- Grapes: 75% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Bianco, 15% Pinot Nero
- Dosage: 0.3g/l
- ABV: 13%
- Price band: £100+
This, the ultimate sparkling expression from Ca’ del Bosco, which is dedicated to the winery’s founder, Annamaria Clementi, sees the property’s best grapes from the finest harvests used to craft a long-lees aged fizz – with seven years minimum. The result is an outstanding sparkling wine, with notes of roasted coffee beans, grilled nuts and baked bread, along with fruit flavours from mango to pear, candied lemon to tangy grapefruit, complemented by a creamy-textured refreshing and persistent fizz and a smoky, bone dry, crisp finish.
Corte Fusia, Satèn, Franciacorta, NV
- Grapes: 90% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Bianco,
- Dosage: less than 1g/l
- ABV: 12.5%
- Price band: £30-50
This lovely, refreshing Satèn – a term dedicated to a style of Franciacorta with a slightly lower pressure (5 bar rather than 6) – has a pleasantly creamy texture, with a smooth fine stream of bubbles. In terms of flavours, there’s a touch of vanilla pod and baked bread, with poach pear and fresh lemon, followed by a dry, bright, tangy finish, with a chalky dry taste and sensation.
La Montina, Franciacorta Extra Brut, NV
- Grapes: 75% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Bianco,
- Dosage: 3.5g/l
- ABV: 12%
- Price band: £20-30
A mouth-watering Franciacorta with layers of fruit, from peach and pear, to apple and raspberry, followed by plenty of tangy citrus notes and fresh pastry characters too. In short, this is a ripe and generous Franciacorta in terms of flavours, but there are plenty of dry, bright salty characters to make this an intensely refreshing drop too.
Lantieri de Paratico, Franciacorta Extra Brut Arcadia, 2018
- Grapes: 80% Chardonnay, 15% Pinot Nero, 5% Pinot Bianco,
- Dosage: 4g/l
- ABV: 12.5%
- Price band: £20-30
An instantly-satisfying sparkling wine generous characters of creamy vanilla, pineapple and pear, along with hazelnuts and brown bread, following by a palate-cleansing tangy citrus and chalky finish. A fizz with depth and balance, and, while bright and mouth-watering, it has an appealing softness too.
Bellavista, Franciacorta Brut Teatro alla Scala, 2017
- Grapes: 75% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Nero
- Dosage: 4.5g/l
- ABV: 12.5%
- Price band: £30-50
This prestige cuvée vintage expression from Bellavista, called Teatro alla Scala, is a fantastic performance, with layers of appealing flavours from hazelnuts to honey, pear to ripe apple. Texturally it’s lovely too, ripe and full, with a creamy mousse, and then a lingering, tangy edge to the finish.
Antica Fratta, Franciacorta Brut Essence, 2018
- Grapes: 90% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Nero
- Dosage: 5.1g/l
- ABV: 13%
- Price band: £30-50
A generous style of sparkling wine, this Franciacorta from Antica Fratta is loaded with layers of fruit and lees-aged flavours, including pear and red apple, along with vanilla pod, pastry and grilled nuts. There is a persistent stream of finely-textured bubbles and, while the fruit is ripe, the finish is chalky, dry and fresh.
Contadi Castaldi, Franciacorta Satèn, NV
- Grapes: 100% Chardonnay
- Dosage: 6g/l
- ABV: 12.5%
- Price band: £30-50
A Satèn Franciacorta, with its hallmark mix of yellow fruit and silky, smooth bubbles, this pure Chardonnay fizz is joy to sip. It’s complex too, with plenty of flavours, from pineapple to pear, hazelnuts to pastry, along with salted lemon and chalk dust too, ensuring its dry and zesty on the finish.
Vigneti Cenci, Franciacorta Satèn, La Via della Seta, NV
- Grapes: 90% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Bianco
- Dosage: 8g/l
- ABV: 12.5%
- Price band: £20-30
This fine Satèn starts with a whiff of freshly-struck match before revealing flavours of fresh apple, hazelnut, grapefruit pitch, lemon zest and chalk. It’s a really refreshing, tangy and smoky style, but with a softness to its texture that ensures it’s not too austere.
Castelveder, Franciacorta Brut Rosé, NV
- Grapes: 100% Pinot Nero
- Dosage: 3.4g/l
- ABV: 12.5%
- Price band: £20-30
This salmon pink, pure Pinot Nero Franciacorta looks pretty, and delivers plenty of appealing flavours too. There’s a touch of strawberry jam mixed with red apple and rosehip, along with peach and pear, and then a subtle note of fresh pastry and baked bread, before the fizz finishes with plenty of crisp apple fruit.
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