Nicola Gatta, Rosé de Noirs NV - 75cl

Nearly five years on the lees, for a rosé. Sixty moons is an absurd amount of patience to spend on a style most producers ship inside eighteen months, and it is why Nicola Gatta's Rosé de Noirs tastes less like a pink aperitif and more like a small red wine that happens to sparkle.

Pinot Nero, all of it, from the limestone hills around Gussago and Cellatica at the eastern edge of Franciacorta. Gatta farms biodynamically at about 400 metres and sits outside the DOCG by choice, so the label reads Vino Spumante Nature rather than anything grander. Fermentation starts spontaneously on native yeasts, the second fermentation happens in bottle in the traditional way, and nothing is filtered, dosed or sulphured on the way out.

The colour is a live, faintly coppery pink. Redcurrant and raspberry arrive first, then the long ageing takes over with brioche, butter and a savoury edge that keeps pulling the wine away from prettiness. It spreads out across the palate without losing shape, and the freshness and salinity run right through to the end, which is what stops all that pastry weight turning heavy. Zero dosage keeps it dry.

How to Serve

8–10°C. A white wine glass again — too much is going on here for a flute. Open it half an hour before dinner if you can and let the first glass sit; the red fruit comes forward as the temperature climbs a degree or two.

Where to Drink It

The Connaught Bar, before anything else happens. Artesian at The Langham, for a glass that quietly outclasses the cocktail list. American Bar at The Savoy, late on.

Food Pairings

Duck. Roast the breast pink, crisp the skin hard, and give it something sharp on the side — cherries, or a bitter leaf salad. Pinot Nero recognises duck, the bubbles scrub the fat from your palate between mouthfuls, and five years of lees give the wine enough savoury weight to sit beside dark meat without vanishing.