Tasted from magnum, the Bellavista 2017 Franciacorta Pas Operé Extra Brut (in the bottle with the light purple label and capsule) is 64% Chardonnay and 36% Pinot Nero with fruit selection honed down to about 25 specific vineyard plots. Production is 30,000 bottles. You get an easy sparkler with fun, citrusy aromas and spicy beading. The wine's natural acidity helps to drive its mid-weight palate.

From a hot and dry vintage, the 2012 Franciacorta Pas Operé Extra Brut is a blend of two-thirds Chardonnay and one-third Pinot Nero. Fruit is rigorously selected only from vines aged 30 years old or more, planted with southeast-facing exposures. Because of the vintage conditions, I pick up on thick, full-bodied aromas of ripe peach, poached pear and honey. There is a sweet floral component to the sparkling wine that reminds me of almond blossom or honeysuckle. This wine comes close to feeling heavy and sticky, but ultimately its natural acidity kicks in to better balance the overall mouthfeel. Some 16,000 bottles were made.

The 2008 Franciacorta Pas Operé Extra Brut (65% Chardonnay and 35% Pinot Nero) shows an extra creamy style that is a distinguishing characteristics of sparkling wines made by Bellavista. The wine reveals a texture that is soft and yielding with ample tones of ripe peach, Golden Delicious apple and toasted bread. The perlage is foamy and thick and it spreads evenly over the palate leaving an enduring sense of freshness and persistency.

Disgorged in 2012, the 2006 Franciacorta Gran Cuvee Pas Opere Extra Brut shows focused tones of yellow fruit and citrus wrapped within thicker notes of toasted almond and freshly baked bread. Soft elegance and aromatic complexity set the tone for this beautifully evolved sparker comprised of 65% Chardonnay and 35% Pinot Nero. Drink: 2014-2020. A leading producer in Franciacorta, Bellavista farms 190 hectares of vines parceled into 107 individual micro crus. Each one is vinified separately and later assembled into the various blends. Legendary Italian entrepreneur Vittorio Moretti started by making a few bottles to gift to his friends in the early 1970s. By the late 1970s, his celebrated brand had demonstrated that Italy has the potential for top-notch sparkling wine. Importer: Terra Moretti Trading USA; www.tmtrading-usa.com