Divella ‘Clo Clo’ Metodo Classico Rosé 2017

Location: Italy, Lombardy

Winemaker: Alessandra Divella

Grapes: Pinot Noir

Soil: clay, limestone

Winemaking: 100% Pinot Noir, with 75% coming from the 2016 harvest and 25% from vin de reserve. Hand-harvested fruit from 18-year-old vines planted to limestone and clay. First fermentation made with indigenous yeasts, then aged in barriques until spring. Aged 42 months on the lees; bottled in the spring and disgorged in November, with zero dosage.

From the Importer Super Glou: Named in honor of Alessandra’s mother, the ‘Clo Clo’ Rosé is made from the gentle second press of hand-harvested pinot noir. This zero-zero, brut sparkling rosé is one that easily transitions from cocktail hour to dinner. The wine exhibits a beautiful light pink shade with bright citrus notes, hints of dried fruit and a touch of brioche. Delicate, lithe, with a stealth power from the richness of the lees aging.

At twenty-nine-years old, Alessandra Divella is the Italian answer to grower Champagne, on track to upend the industrial farming practices rampant in Franciacorta. Her vines have been organic from the start and her two hectares, on lease for thirty years from an older neighbor, teem with life, including rosehips and praying mantises. The aim is to eventually move toward permaculture. Grapes are always hand harvested and treated gently.

Alessandra herself has a quiet confidence that belies the adrenaline rush of her wines: Chardonnay and Pinot Noir so saline and bracing they make your heart race. She does not come from a winemaking family but rather stumbled into it through interactions with winemakers that made her "feel at home." She does, however, draw from her family heritage when it comes to detail and precision: her Italian father (for which her NiNì cuvée is named) and Swiss mother (Clo Clo) are both academics.

Zero sulfur / zero dosage, Alessandra's wines are 100% méthode champenoise so dialed into their provenance of clay and limestone that your mouth will salivate for minutes (if not hours) afterward. With less than a decade of winemaking experience under her wing, Alessandra has already achieved pioneer status within the region as one of the first estates to farm organically and the first to be female-led. The exceptional level of wines produced is mind-melting, especially considering that this is only the beginning.