Grana Padano, “salame di Franciacorta”, fresh baked bread and grissini and three different Berlucchis belonging to the “61” line: brut, rose’ and nature. The Berlucchi “61” line celebrates in its name the year of the first Franciacorta sparkling wine produced, not to be confused with a specific Vintage. The Grana Padano DOP is a hard cheese produced in the northern region of the Padania valley, it’s rich and slightly salted with a crescendo in umami.
The palate gets ready for the first wine: the “61” Brut. 90% chardonnay and 10 % pinot noir. Continuous and minuscule “perlage”; delicate scent of apples, peaches and lemons with a comforting fresh baked bread’s presence; crisp and elegant. The wine gently clears all the reminiscence of the Grana and the salami. It’s fresh, dry, enchanting.
The “61” Rose’ offers a more structured aroma with its 60/40 ratio pinot noir and chardonnay. A light tannicity offered by the short maceration (no more than few hours depending on the vintage) of the pinot noir in its skins; fresh and continuous perlage, scent of red wild berries and bread crust; long and warm finish. The wine undergoes malolactic fermentation, in which the tart-tasting malic acids are converted into soft-tasting lactic acids giving the wine a pleasant “creaminess” texture.
Least, but not last the “61” nature. “Nature” stands for natural and means no flavours are added to the wine in any step of the production. In the sparkling wine’s making process, the very last stage is the addition of “liqueur de tirage” or “de la maison” in which a syrup made of wines and sugar and is added to the bottle just prior to the last corking, giving the “signature flavour” and the sweet gradient that will characterize a line of wines. This doesn’t happen to the Nature. Made with 80% chardonnay and 20% pinot noir harvested only from selected vineyards more than 15 years old, this “Vintage” rests “sur lie” (in contact with the yeast) for at least 60 months. Fine and continuous perlage, gentle and renewing crown, its complex aroma reminds of fresh baked bread, citruses and peaches. Dry, strong, crisp. A persistence that contributes to the elegance and equilibrium of the wine. This is a wine for the whole meal: from a nice antipasto with cured meats, to main courses with fish or white meat, to soft and partially aged cheeses, to fruity and creamy desserts.
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