Ca' del Bosco Cuvee Prestige, Franciacorta DOCG, Italy

Ca' del Bosco Cuvée Prestige Edizione 46

Designation: Franciacorta.

Grape varieties: Chardonnay 79,5%, Pinot Bianco 1,5%, Pinot Nero 19%.

Vineyards of provenance: 175 plots planted with Chardonnay, average age: 27 years, in the Municipalities of Erbusco, Adro, Cazzago San Martino, Corte Franca, Iseo and Passirano.
8 plots planted with Pinot Bianco, average age: 30 years, in the Municipality of Passirano.
45 plots planted with Pinot Nero, average age: 20 years, in the Municipalities of Erbusco, Provaglio d’Iseo and Passirano.

Blend

76% vintage wines 2021
21% reserve wines 2020
3% reserve wines 2019
2021. The vintage was characterized by a mild winter with little rainfall, and as was logical, the budding of the vines began earlier than expected: towards the end of March. This vegetative advance saw us exposed to a tail end of winter with a wave of frost that hit Franciacorta on April 6 and 7 and also caused damage on some of our vineyards. Following this, vegetative recovery continued at an incredibly slow pace due to weather conditions marked by cold weather and frequent rains. With this weather the vines delayed flowering by a week compared to the average in recent years (last decade of May). The beginning of summer brought with it no major heat waves, and the grape load of the vines was optimal and the health status exceptional except that on July 25, when veraison was already underway, a violent hailstorm radically changed the face of the 2021 vintage. Helping to safeguard the remaining production was the weather of the first ten days of August when an African heat wave, which had so far been lacking, helped the hail wounds heal and kept the grapes dry and healthy. The harvest began on Tuesday, August 17, and in spite of everything after continuous inspections in the vineyard we were able to find grapes with excellent analytical balance and make the best decision about their destination. Average yield per hectare of 6.300 kilograms of grapes, equivalent to 4.000 litres of wine (wine yield: 63%). The quality of the wines is remarkable despite the fact that the vintage was very difficult and made of extremes.

Vinification

The base wines that go into Cuvée Prestige are the fruit of accurate cluster selection and expert vinification, carried out in line with the Ca’ del Bosco Method. The grapes are hand-picked and placed in small crates, graded and chilled. Every bunch is selected by trained eyes and hands, just before they go through our exclusive “berry spa”, a special whirlpool-like wash for grape bunches, consisting of three soaking tanks, followed by thorough drying in a special tunnel. After pressing in an oxygen-free press, all the musts of the base wines ferment in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, where they remain until the following month of March. The wines take seven months to settle, mature and express the very best characteristics of their vineyards of origin. The wines are then carefully assembled in the “magical ritual” that creates the cuvée. Only after aging on the lees for at least 2 years will this Franciacorta express all its richness and identity. Disgorgement is carried out in an oxygen-free environment, using a proprietary process designed and patented by Ca’ del Bosco. This procedure prevents oxidative shocks and makes it unnecessary to add sulfites, making our Franciacortas purer, more appealing and longer lived. Finally, every bottle is marked with a unique identifier to ensure its traceability.

Tirage: April to June of the year following the harvest

Average maturation sur lies: 25 months.

Dosage at disgorgement

Added sugar: 1.0 grams/liter - “Extra Brut”

Analytical data at disgorgement

Alcohol 12.8% by vol.; pH 3.11; Total Acidity 5.85 grams/litre; Volatile Acidity 0.26 grams/litre

Sulphites

Total max. sulfur dioxide 51 milligrams/litre
(max. legal limit: 185 mg/l) – concentration indicated on the back label.