Monti Lessini - Metodo Classico - 48 mesi - Marcazzan

Marcazzan's Monti Lessini DOC Metodo Classico Millesimato is one of those wines that challenge everything you think you know about Italian sparkling wines - not a Prosecco, not a Franciacorta, not an unpretentious aperitif sparkling wine, but an authentic Metodo Classico rooted in its territory, produced in 1600 numbered bottles from an exceptionally rare indigenous grape variety, with 48 months on the lees and a complexity that invites comparison with Champagnes costing three times as much.

Marcazzan is one of the most serious and consistent producers in the Lessini Durello appellation - a small artisan winery in the Veronese Monti Lessini that has chosen to interpret Durella in the most ambitious way possible: not with the fast, commercial Martinotti Method, but with the traditional Metodo Classico, with a specific vintage and lees aging lasting a full 48 months - four entire years in the bottle on its own lees, the same amount of time as the great vintage Champagnes from the most respected houses of the Marne. After disgorgement, the wine rests for a further 6 months before release - almost 5 years in total from harvest to customer.

Durella is Italy's most acidic grape variety - and in Metodo Classico with extended lees aging, this is an enormous advantage. Its exceptionally high natural acidity ensures a freshness and verticality that the wine maintains perfectly throughout its long years of contact with the lees, developing extraordinary autolytic complexity without ever losing the tension and volcanic minerality of the Monti Lessini.

The winemaking is rigorous: gentle pressing of the grapes to preserve all their varietal purity, fermentation in stainless steel at a controlled temperature for 10-12 days, then bottling for the classic secondary fermentation, with at least 48 months on its own lees. Disgorgement takes place by hand, with an Extra Brut dosage - minimal added sugar - to preserve all the wine's minerality and natural acidity without masking them.

On the nose, it is as complex and layered as a great vintage Champagne: candied citrus, quince, toasted almond, bread crust, noble yeast, dried wildflowers, chalk, and a deep, persistent volcanic and ferrous minerality that is the unique signature of the Lessini's basaltic soils. On the palate, it is tense and vertical - an exceptionally fine, creamy bead developed through four years of slow secondary fermentation, precise and incisive natural acidity supporting the entire structure, rich autolytic complexity with notes of pastry and hazelnut, and an extraordinarily long, mineral finish that evolves for minutes. One of the most interesting and underrated Italian sparkling wines of all.

1600 numbered bottles. Available in extremely limited quantities at Emporio Divino.