MFPC VSQ Brut Rosé Pas Operé 2018

The MFPC VSQ Brut Rosé Pas Operé 2018 is a sparkling wine made from pure Pinot Noir, which Cà del Vént bottles with no dosage, no filtration and no fining. The estate has farmed biodynamically since 1994 and deliberately produces its Metodo Classico wines outside the Franciacorta appellation: in 2015 the DOCG's tasting committee refused to recognise it, and since then Antonio Tornincasa and Flavio Faliva have done without the designation entirely. The result is a rosé built on structure and gravity rather than delicacy.

Eleven parcels lie on the steep hills near Brescia, at 320 to 430 metres of altitude. Constant winds blow across the ridges, which gave the estate its name: Cà del Vént, house of the winds. The soils of limestone, clay and heavy loam carry Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and give the wine its taut acidity and cool fruit.

Pinot Noir, spontaneously fermented exclusively in used oak barrels, then aged seven months on fine lees. No cold stabilization follows. The wine then matures for 46 to 59 months on the lees. During disgorgement, only wine from the same batch is added, meaning no dosage: this is the core of the Pas Operé method.

Dry and linear, with raspberry and wild strawberry over pronounced acidity. Joined by blood orange zest and rose blossom, and from the long lees aging, brioche and toasted almond. The texture is creamy, the finish saline and long.

Around 40,000 bottles are produced each year from 7.5 hectares of extremely steep vineyards. The wine has 12.5% ABV and is made in a dry style.