Franciacorta Brut, Il Mosnel

FRANCIACORTA BRUT

D.O.C.G.

Alcohol

12,5 % vol

Component grape varieties and percentages

60% Chardonnay - 30% Pinot Blanc - 10% Pinot Noir

Year first produced

1979

Average annual production

10,000 Demi bottles; 130,000 bottles; 6,000 magnums

Vineyard location and exposure

In our estate vineyards in the commune of Passirano, at the foot of the Monterotondo and Fantecolo hills, with east-southeast exposure

Soil profile

Level and slightly undulating terrain in loose morainic soils of medium fertility, with medium-deep gravel-pebble mixture

Vineyard names

Larga Cani, Mosnel, Camilì, and Tesa

Training system

Spurred cordon

Yield per hectare

80 quintals of grapes/hectare = 52 hectolitres/hectare

Harvest

Hand picking into small boxes, between the end of August and the first decade of September

Vinification

The clusters are gently pressed in a pneumatic press, and the first and second fractions are kept separate. After a 12-hour gravity settling at 13°C, the must is inoculated with cultured yeasts and the wine ferments, part at controlled temperatures in stainless steel, part (30%) in small oak barrels, and then goes through malolactic fermentation. The cuvée is assembled in March, the liqueur di tirage added and the bottles capped, and the bottles are laid down for the prise de mousse

Maturation, ageing

The tiered-up bottles remain in our 17th-century cellars for 24 months before riddling. The sediment is then removed and they are given the Brut-style liqueur d’expedition, then corked and wired. This Franciacorta then rests in the bottle a further two years before release