Franciacorta Rosé DOCG Dosaggio Zero

Franciacorta is Italy's answer to Champagne — and this rosé from Santus shows why the comparison is more than justified. Vinified from 100% Pinot Nero, it undergoes a short maceration on the skins, which gives it its delicate salmon-colored tint, before it matures for at least 40 months on the lees — almost twice as long as the minimum prescribed by the Denominazione.

Santus cultivates its vineyards south of Lake Iseo in Lombardy, where glacial moraine soils of sand, gravel, and clay give the wines a mineral basic tension. Bottle fermentation according to the Champagne model is legally prescribed here and is a basic requirement of the DOCG.

On the nose, yeast plait and brioche, behind it wild strawberry, blood orange, and a fine rose petal aroma. On the palate, ripe red fruit, lively acidity, and a creamy, fine-pored perlage. The finish is dry and precise — no dosage means no residual sugar, but a long, spicy aftertaste with a mineral note.

Pairs well with risotto with langoustines, tuna sashimi, or vitello tonnato. It also cuts a fine figure as an aperitif. Serving temperature: 8–10 °C.