The 2003 Dosage Zero comes across as somewhat heavy and lacking the verve of the finest wines in this line-up. An attractive array of apricots, peaches, smoke and minerals emerges from the glass, but the wine could use a touch more focus and poise. The 2003 Dosage Zero is 65% Chardonnay, 16% Pinot Blanc and 19% Pinot Noir bottled with no dosage. This is Lot. N. L08023-03 disgorged winter 2007. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2013. Importer: Terlato Wines International, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604 8900

Champagne, in a certain sense, was born with the addition of sugar, but I was nonetheless quite taken with the 1999 Franciacorta Extra Brut Dosage Zero and its flinty, mineral, yeast-rich aromas and flavors and bracing acidity, a kind of Chablis with bubbles that is definitely aimed for a market of connoisseurs. Maurizio Zanella, the founder of Ca’ de Bosco, has won a large group of admirers for what he has accomplished over the past quarter of a century, but has also attracted a certain number of detractors who object to what they consider his excessive flamboyance and vaulting ambition. I am an unambiguous member of the first party, and consider his sparkling wines the finest expression of what Italy can do in this field, worthy competitors to fine French Champagne.