Nicola Gatta
Nicola was born in Gussago, a small town next to Brescia in Lombardy. From a winemaking family, he started making wine at a young age. However, after discovering natural wine, he decided to pursue that path. He began with a few plots of old vines on the hills of Gussago at about 400m above sea level, on the borders of the Franciacorta appellation, considered not a prime location as the vines were harder to work, producing fewer yields than those on the flatland. The soils here are clay and limestone, mirroring Champagne more closely than the surrounding Franciacorta area, typically sand-based.
Farming around 5ha of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, following biodynamic principles without pursuing certification, Nicola focuses on parcelization in the latest vintages. This concept, fairly new in the region, is well-rooted in other famous French regions. His work in the cellar centers on spontaneous fermentations with minimal intervention, including no filtrations, clarifications, or other techniques, while all the wines undergo very long lees aging without the use of any sulfites. All bottles are disgorged by hand and without dosage, except for the Molener (3g/l). His base wine sees 30 months on lees, warmly called "Lune" (moon in Italian), going up to 90 months for the Molener.
Nicola decided to leave the Franciacorta appellation long ago to have the freedom and creativity to produce a serious Metodo Classico without bounds. This choice has proven successful, while today Nicola Gatta is synonymous with the most serious Italian Metodo Classico, with importers and distributors around the world fighting for an allocation.
Today, we are proudly releasing his entire range, including rare bottles like the Molener and 8.18 Blanc de Noir Perpetuo. These are all old disgorgements, allowing you to benefit from well-integrated wines. Nicola's work is a perfect balance between all elements of a Classic method, integrating a light and sexy oxidation, akin to grower Champagne producers, of whom Nicola is a big fan.
We are always impressed with every bottle opened by this producer, and we hope you'll find the same excitement.
