FRANCIACORTA

2018 base year, 90% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Noir, 3.5 g/l dosage. This is laser-sharp and bright with lovely focused lemony fruit as well as a touch of mandarin. Very pure and fresh with a touch of pear and green apple, with massive drinkability, but also a bit of complexity. Has a nice acid line and a sense of elegance and purity. Quite delicate. Rating: 91 Jamie Goode, www.wineanorak.com (Jan 2022)

90% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Noir. 18 months on lees. Dosage 3.5 g/l. Fresh and lemony, a touch herbal. Extremely fine mousse and a nicely chalky texture, dry-tasting. Delicate, elegant Drinking range: 2023 - 2024 Rating: 16 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2023)

The NV Franciacorta Brut is savory and spicy in the glass with dusty yellow florals, ginger and hints of white pepper. It soothes all that it touches with round textures and ripe orchard fruits, coasting along a gentle bead of bubbles, as juicy acids add further vibrancy. Hints of kiwi and apple linger on the long finish. This is wonderfully balanced and aimed to please. Drinking range: 2021 - 2024 Rating: 90 Eric Guido, www.vinous.com (Dec 2020)

Stylistically speaking, Italy’s answer to champagne is not in the Veneto, home to prosecco, but in Franciacorta in Lombardy, where producers such as Corteaura make beautifully pure, finely-bubbled, bottle-fermented sparkling wines including this 90/10 chardonnay/pinot noir blend.David Williams, The Observer (Jun 2020)

This is 90% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Noir. This has biscuit flavours blended with nettle notes in a very appetising way. It has a refreshingly tart finish. There is no lack of finesse. Rating: 17 Sarah Marsh MW, The Burgundy Briefing (May 2020)

A marked floral note here, alongside fleshy white peach and fresh dough lees notes. Some frothiness and a touch of bitterness on the palate, and this is distinctly dry and flinty. More austere palate than nose. Bready, leesy length. Pretty decent. Rating: 16 Tim Jackson MW, www.jancisrobinson.com (Apr 2020)

90% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Noir. 36 months on the lees. Bright lemony nose, lemon and lemon cream. A dry texture a bit like aspirin. Tastes dry even though there is a light balancing residual sweetness. Pure and surprisingly little obvious autolytic (yeasty) character after so long on the lees. Still seems very primary. Rating: 16 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2019)

Franciacorta deserves more recognition for its sophisticated sparklings, especially when they cost less than £20 a bottle, like this. Made from Chardonnay with two years' aging on its lees, it's soft and expressive with green apple and lemon fruit. The palate is light and fresh with an attractive zesty finish. Rating: 90 Sarah Marsh MW, Club Oenologique Magazine (Apr 2017)

This is 100 per cent Chardonnay and aged on its lees for 20 months, but it's not a Franciacorta that's trying to ape Champagne. It offers instead a bridge between Prosecco and Champagne – approachable, softer and less complex than Champagne but well-made with rounded, apple and lime flavours. New to Lea & Sandeman. Rating: 87 The Wine Gang - www.thewinegang.com (Oct 2016)

Very good price. Great delivery for the money. Not the leanest or freshest. Feels as though the fruit was rather hard pressed. But the quality of mousse is very good for the money.Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Sept 2016)