2013 Casa Caterina 'L'estro'

Place: Lombardy, ITA

Variety: Marsanne, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc

Farming: Biodynamic

The Del Bono Brothers are a phenomenon! From vineyards in the Franciacorta zone of Lombardy the brothers make sparkling wines with zero additions (save liqueur de tirage) that arrive from biodynamically-farmed vineyards that have never seen a synthetic herbicide or pesticide sprayed.

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 wines that are generous and opulent aromatically. but finish with laser precision from lack the lack of dosage.

This is one of their long-aged still wines, made from marsanne, viognier and sauvignon blanc. It hibernates for three years in barrel under flor (sous voile), allowing nutty and salty characters to rise to the fore, then released after almost a decade in bottle. Stylistically wedged between sous voile Jura and Vin Jaune, it is a deeply nuanced, savoury and intense wine, best treated as you would Vin Jaune—alongside substantial hunks of aged Comté.