2014 Franciacorta Cuvee Annamaria Clementi

The 2014 Dosage Zéro Franciacorta Riserva Annamaria Clementi blends richness and power in a refined and tantalizing interpretation of the vintage. Orange zest, nectarines, mint leaves and sweet smoke create its lifted and alluring bouquet. This enters the palate with a mineral-tinge bead of finely etched bubbles that give way to crisp yellow apples and hints of autumnal spice. An enriching note of compound dough resonates through the close. The 2014 finishes remarkably fresh and precise, cleansing the senses with residual acidity as butterscotch candies and crystalized ginger traces slowly fade. There is so much to like about this deeply textural Annamaria Clementi. The 2014 is the result of severe selection and eight years maturing on the lees. (Lot# L22055D01)

The Ca' del Bosco 2014 Franciacorta Riserva Annamaria Clementi Dosage Zéro (a blend of 76% Chardonnay, 15% Pinto Nero and 9% Pinot Bianco) ferments in small oak casks for six months and matures on the lees for eight long years. The bouquet is immediately beautiful with baked apple, brioche, pastry cream and something a little spicy, like a pinch of saffron, that gives extra pop. It shows a mid-weight mouthfeel with a whole other set of almond and bitter lemon flavors. This elegant Franciacorta manages a careful dance between nose and palate.

82% Chardonnay, 15% Pinot Noir, 3% Pinot Blanc. Aged for approximately eight years on the lees. Bottle number 11,195. Deep straw yellow. Cool and concentrated nose with hints of peach, mirabelle and orange. Full white-fruit palate cut by linear acidity. Just the beginning of autolysis, but super-discreet, and a hint of brioche and what looks like oak-ageing. Long, cool and wired by acidity. Just at the beginning of its evolution. (WS)