Giuseppe Lenza Franciacorta 2005

There is a corner of Franciacorta unlike any other: Monte Orfano, an isolated ridge rising from the Brescia plain between Erbusco, Rovato, Cologne and Coccaglio. It is the only geological formation of marine origin in Lombardy, a conglomerate of exceptionally hard rock that tells a story millions of years old, long before vines took root here. It was on its southern slope that, in 1964, Giuseppe Lenza began restoring the ancient terraces abandoned after the phylloxera epidemic of the early twentieth century, bringing back to life a landscape that seemed lost. Today his son Vittorio and grandson Matteo continue that work with an approach that remains faithful first to the land and then to oenology — natural winemaking, often far removed from the conventions of modern oenology, in order to remain true to the vocation of the place. The 2005 Riserva, dedicated to the founder, is made from Chardonnay grown in the estate’s oldest vineyard and rests on its lees for at least 120 months — ten silent years in the cellar before reaching the glass. This is not a wine that merely tells the story of a vintage: it tells the story of a place, and of the man who first had the courage to believe in it.