Meraviglioso, summing up 30 years of Bellavista

The name is Meraviglioso and Vittorio Moretti has defined it «The perfect synthesis of 30 years of Bellavista». It was born from the collaboration with oenologist Mattia Vezzola, who gave this description: «It was born out of the desire to be just oneself. We wanted to avoid trends or oenological virtuosos. Making great wines in large formats means balancing historic vintages so as to make a unique wine. I wanted to prove, first of all to myself, that white wines in Franciacorta can have a future ahead of themselves just as long as their cousins in France». A direct wine, just the way the entrepreneur conceived it.

Surely the name could sound pretentious but the patron of Bellavista loves life. Francesca, his daughter, who runs the winery, confirms it: «My father knows he’s a very lucky man. He got a lot from life. His cheerfulness, his family and his positivity, it’s something that makes him sing this song every morning while he shaves in front of the mirror. Of course Modugno’s text is of help in this ritual and when Mattia made him taste the wine for the first time, he immediately exclaimed: «Meraviglioso!».

Try proving him wrong: the blend is the result of six great vintages - 1984, 1988, 1991, 1995, 2001 and 2002. These riservas are named after Francesca’s father and create something difficult to describe: sparkling wines on the lees since the spring of 2003. A wine with infinite perlage and complexity on the nose and on the palate.

Vezzola confirms: «I wanted for this cuvée to frankly explain what Bellavista represents to me and to Franciacorta, a 37-year-long collaboration with the Morettis and the enlightened mind of Vittorio. I had a duty to create a wine that would unveil his soul, a mirror of the company’s philosophy, based on naturalness with an anachronistic attention to sweetness and roundness».

This contemporary element blends perfectly with the respect for the past. Meraviglioso is the “millesimo dei millesimi” [the vintage of vintages], with a production of 5,000 magnum, for around 850 euro. The next vintage to become part of the future’s Meraviglioso is Vittorio Moretti Riserva 2008, a rich wine from years with a rare freshness, creamy with notes of smoked chestnuts, almond nuances.

While the 2008 vintage had perfectly mature grapes, favoured by a hot and sunny August; 2017 has created quite a few problesms in the vineyard. Frost in Franciacorta on the 17th and 18th of April caused many damages in the area and at Bellavista’s. After monitoring the vineyards for a month, without making any type of intervention, they concluded they had to hire the best pruners. Around one hundred, to be precise, with a total of 8,500 hours of work, to regenerate, over 10 days, the damaged vineyards.

Today the buds are partly safe but should the vintage cause other unforeseen changes in quantity and quality, the vineyards will be preserved for the future. Naturalness and longevity, this is the mantra at Moretti’s. A tribute to the elegance of Bellavista bubbles, paired with the gastronomic creations of the Cerea brothers, perfectly enhancing this Meraviglioso wine.

Translated into English by Slawka G. Scarso.