Place: Lombardy, ITA

Variety: Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec

Farming: Biodynamic

The Del Bono Brothers are a phenomenon! From vineyards in the Franciacorta zone of Lombardy, the brothers make sparkling and still wines with zero additions that arrive from biodynamically-farmed vineyards that have never seen a synthetic herbicide or pesticide sprayed on them. 

Aurelio takes his inspiration from time working for Anselme Selosse by producing wines with greater fruit ripeness than the rest of the zone, resulting in a wine that is generous and opulent aromatically but that finishes with laser-like precision. The wines spend an insane amount of time on lees, starting at 36 months and going up to 12 years for some cuvees. 

This is one of their very long aged wines, a Bordeaux blend that slumbers in barrel for eleven years(!) before bottling. Powerful yet supple, you would be inclined to think this was young right-bank Bordeaux such is its vibrancy.