1701 is the first e the only biodynamic winery in Franciacorta and has an ancient history shoulders, since the first winemaking dates back to over three hundred years ago. We two brothers take care of it, passionate about agriculture, wine and Franciacorta. In 2012 we decided to bring it back to life under the banner of principles of organic viticulture first and then biodynamic (certification by Demeter is from July 2016).
We deeply believe in an approach far from any forcing and chemical intervention. This, for us, is a philosophy of life, a way to approach the vineyard, understand it and respect it in its life cycle to make it fully express, in the bottle, its vitality and character. We have managed to combine a clean, fresh and elegant product with an agriculture that respects the vineyard, creating the best natural conditions to make it healthy and strong.
We therefore work for increase the fertility of the land, especially by taking care of its humus, because when the earth is alive, the plant produces extremely rich grapes.
We cultivate ten hectares (eight of Chardonnay and two of Pinot Noir), in Cazzago San Martino, in the heart of Franciacorta, a morainic amphitheater formed during the glaciation era. Our soils are rich in sand and silt, with high soil permeability. This is a unique territory, and benefits enormously from the proximity of Lake Iseo and enjoys the mitigating effect of temperatures, in summer and winter.
We produce around 60 thousand bottles a year, without dosing a single one. We decided to leave the bottles of Satèn and Rosé Nature on the yeasts for at least 30 months, so as to make them vintage, while the Brut Nature comes out without a vintage even if the months of aging are always longer than the 18 required by the specifications. 1701 produces Franciacorta Dosaggio Zero Riserva DOCG only in the best years: it expresses the best of our company's vineyard heritage and ages for a minimum of 60 months.
But we don't stop here, because alongside the DOCG there is a lot of room for experimentation. This is why we created Sullerba , a sur lies made with an ancient winemaking method (the fine lees remain in the bottle): 100% chardonnay fermented in steel and concrete tanks, then transferred to the bottle, using the must of the same grape variety for the second fermentation, where it ages for at least 18 months. It is not disgorged, dosed or filtered.
The last born in casa 1701 is an IGT Sebino of only chardonnay, entirely vinified in amphora.
Silvia and Federico Stefini
