Monti Lessini - Metodo Classico - Millesimato - Franchetto

Franchetto's Monti Lessini DOC Metodo Classico Millesimato is the most complex and mature wine in the range of this artisanal winery in the Monti Lessini.

Franchetto applies to Durella the same philosophy that the grandes maisons of Champagne apply to their millesimated cuvées de prestige - absolute respect for the grape variety, a minimum of 48 months on its own lees in the bottle, disgorgement with an Extra Brut dosage to preserve all its natural minerality, and 6 months of bottle rest after disgorgement before release. In total, almost 7 years from harvest to customer - a period that would be considered normal in Champagne for a great millesimated cuvée, but that is exceptional and almost unprecedented among the artisanal producers of the appellation for Veronese Durella.

Vinification is identical to that of Borgoletto Martinotti, but with a completely different finale: gentle pressing, fermentation in stainless steel at controlled temperature, then tirage in bottle for the classic secondary fermentation with 48 months on its own lees and Extra Brut disgorgement. The bottle labeled with the vintage is the guarantee of a wine from a specific year - not an assembled cuvée, but the expression of a single Veronese vintage with all its climatic and aromatic history.

On the nose, it is complex, mature and fascinating - completely different from the young and fragrant Borgoletto: quince and ripe pear, dried apricot, toasted almond and walnut paste, whole-wheat bread crust, evolved noble yeast, acacia honey, dried wildflowers, chalk and an intense, layered volcanic minerality. On the palate, it is creamy, enveloping and surprisingly fresh for its age - the bubbles are exceptionally fine and silky, the body is full and structured, the Durella's acidity is still vibrant and vertical after 6 years, the autolytic complexity is rich and persistent, and the finish is extremely long, with notes of dried fruit, pastry, minerality and a persistent marine salinity that is the unique signature of the basaltic Lessini. Serve at 8-10°C in a large tulip glass to express all its evolutionary complexity.