Curtefranca Bianco DOC “Convento Ss. Annunciata” 2018 – Bellavista

To produce the Curtefranca Bianco DOC “Convento Ss. Annunciata” Bellavista, the grapes from each plot are harvested and vinified separately. The must was fermented in small, three to four year old French oak barrels where it remained for 12 months. The wine was bottled during the second spring after harvest and it then rested for a further year in bottle before release.

Bellavista has chosen 190 hectares of vines in 10 communes within the Franciacorta DOCG. The vineyards have some of the best exposure and expressive potential in the area. This has given rise to 107 small crus that express the intrinsic personality of the land and the subtle nuances of its character. The fruit for this wine comes from the vineyard at the Convento dell’Annunciata, which has been cultivated by the monks there since 1449. It is now in the hands of Bellavista and planted entirely with Chardonnay. The 5.45 hectare vineyard is divided into two plots with two different soil types, a rich mix of sand, silty soil and clay with limestone.

Bellavista makes Italy’s finest sparkling wines from its 200 hectares of vineyard situated in the western part of the Franciacorta zone in a natural amphitheatre. The glacial soil is full of stones, and provides the ideal environment for the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes used in the production of their Franciacorta. Bellavista, meaning ‘beautiful view’ in Italian, was founded by Vittorio Moretti in the early 1970s, with the first vintage produced in 1979. In 1981, he met a young winemaker, Mattia Vezzola and this partnership transformed Bellavista into Italy’s leading producer of quality sparkling wine.