Ca' del Bosco

HERE COMES DOSAGE ZÉRO NOIR Tuesday 14 October 2014

Vintage Collection Dosage Zéro Noir, the fourth wine in the cellar’s range of vintage bottles, is a 2005 Franciacorta classified as “Riserva”. 100% pinot nero-only grapes vinified off the skins for this Blanc de Noir that comes from a magical site in one of the highest points in Franciacorta, the Belvedere vineyard at some 466 metres above sea level.

What is the meaning of a fairytale nowadays? A fairytale is a page of ageless time, a story savored in little sips, whose characters are born from bold visions, from an idea as sure and straight as a row of vines, as clear as a dream of blown green glass. The meaning of a fairytale lies in imagination, in the skill of those who write and tell it, of those who complete it, adding a new chapter every day. The enchanting Ca' del Bosco story began in the mid-1960s when, in Erbusco, Franciacorta, Annamaria Clementi Zanella bought a little house on a hill, locally known as "Ca' del bosc" and surrounded by dense chestnut woods.

The Ca' del Bosco fairytale is written in its wines, in the extensive weave of its vineyards, in the success dreamt of, desired and achieved by its author. Maurizio Zanella saw in Franciacorta the land that would generate the finest fruits, both in still wines and in premium bubblies: his winery was the first and best expression of the qualitative potential of this wine territory. A position reached thanks to the enthusiasm and passion of Maurizio Zanella who in the early 1970s became conscious of and followed his artistic vocation, becoming a leader in the Italian wine renaissance and turning a house in a chestnut wood into a vanguard winery. The splendid Ca' del Bosco tales began from this: from a dream, a fairytale born to last through time.

The Ca' del Bosco winery, surrounded by verdant vineyards and woods, is a journey into ideal enology: stone, steel, wood and glass. The technological heart of the winery beats with passion and precision, artfully lit and framed by the deep green of the park. Its architecture blends harmoniously with the morainic hills of Franciacorta. Shapes and colors are inspired by forest tones: a grayish-green wave citing the curve of hill and vineyard. Everything was designed to follow nature's rhythms and transform prized fruit into premium wines. Freshly picked, crated and classified on arrival according to vineyard of origin, the grapes are cooled in special cells.

Only the grapes that have cleared harsh selection are pressed: Ca' del Bosco's long experience has led to an exclusive technique that permits vinification in a total absence of oxygen and ultra-smooth wine handling. A pair of aerial tanks makes it possible to pour musts and wines by force of gravity, using the principle of communicating vats. In long underground cellars of stone, whose temperature and humidity are constantly monitored, the wines are aged in small oak barrels. Controlled-atmosphere environment, innovative bottling lines, corks individually scanned and machinery designed by Ca' del Bosco guarantee healthful, long-lasting wines in every bottle. Then comes the refinement period: the slow passage of time and the cellarmen's love will do the rest. 

Often a name is the playful result of a flight of fancy, at other times it simply derives from a métier or an art. Rarely does a name conceal a destiny and when it does this is astonishing. The origins of the name Franciacorta are amiably bandied about in anecdotes and tales, ancient annals and folklore.But it is from Franzacurta (deriving from the Latin franchae curtes, a region exempt from paying tribute) that it took its present-day name. What counts most, however, are its roots, remote in time. Credentials earned through longstanding wine traditions, the strength of ideas, enterprising farmers and bold entrepreneurs.  One of the first regions to get D.O.C. status, in long-ago 1967.

Franciacorta quickly gained renown for the products of its land and the commitment shown by everyone investing resources and ideas in quality enology. New energies, new impetus, new enthusiasm. New generations, impassioned and innovative, drawn by the great international success that these splendid bubblies have obtained.

In 1995 Franciacorta was given D.O.C.G. (Denomination of Origin Controlled and Guaranteed) status, a significant testimonial to its winemakers' continuing commitment to excellent work and to further improving the quality of Franciacorta wines. Because saying Franciacorta today means proudly and confidently declaring a great love for wine and for the cultivation and culture of a dream, a mark of destiny.