Lo Sparviere

Lo Sparviere, located in a venerable 16th-century country villa, is a winery with a female imprint resolutely helmed by Monique Poncelet.
Wife of Ugo Gussalli Beretta, Poncelet inherited her passionate love for this land and its vineyards from her father-in-law, Franco Gussalli, whose family played a prominent role for generations in Franciacorta agriculture.

The winery owes its name to the figure of a sparrowhawk over the imposing fireplace inside the main hall of the manor house that serves as the historic nucleus of the winery complex. The residence is a magnificent example of 16th-century architecture, whose frescoed rooms, meticulously preserved, testify to centuries of exquisite hospitality.

All the estate vineyards, cultivated organically since 2013, lie in the communes of Monticelli Brusati and Provaglio d’Iseo, at the foot of the first band of hills forming the Lombard Pre-Alps. The estate itself comprises more than 60 hectares, of which 30 are planted to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The soils here, in contrast to the glacially-derived morainic deposits elsewhere in Franciacorta, are limestone marls from native rock complexes; these mineral-rich sedimentary clays gift Lo Sparviere’s Franciacortas their distinctive firm structures and tangy sapidity.

The grapes from the various estate vineyards are vinified separately to encourage and showcase the characteristics of their individual terroirs. Only obsessive attention to the vines and their soils, rigorous quality-selection of the harvested clusters, and delicate care during winemaking ensure that the authentic qualities of these terroirs find their complete embodiment in the wines. This production philosophy of Lo Sparviere is on eloquent display in the estate’s styles of Franciacorta: Brut, Extra Brut, Satèn, Rosé, and Dosaggio Zero.