Testanera Riserva 2016 Franciacorta DOCG - Centinari (astucciato)

Franciacorta Testanera Riserva 2016 – Centinari

Centinari is the Franciacorta house of the Togni family, a wine group founded in 1954 by Luigi Togni and now run by his daughter Paola, with its winery in Capriolo, in the heart of the appellation. Testanera sits at the top of the range: a Riserva the house describes as the fruit of a truly exceptional vintage, of extraordinary complexity and elegance. This bottle comes in a gift box.

It is a pure Chardonnay from medium-textured moraine soils with a balance of sand and silt, trained to Guyot and spurred cordon with low yields (70 quintals per hectare). Grapes are picked from mid-August at dawn, in crates of 18 kg at most, with double selection in the vineyard and the cellar. After pressing and a cool fermentation, the wine goes through a very long ageing: the official sheet states 72 months, with repeated manual bâtonnage in climate-controlled rooms.

The 2016 is deep yellow with bright glints and a fine, persistent bead. The nose is spicy, with vanilla, white pepper, yellow fruit and bread crust; the palate is very fresh, with excellent acidity, long and elegant. Try it with oysters, fish or white-meat first courses, seared bluefin tuna and foie gras.

At a glance: Chardonnay 100% · 12% ABV · 0.75 l · gift box · Centinari, Franciacorta (Capriolo)