White Grape · Lombardy
Erbamat is an ancient white grape from the Brescia hills of Lombardy, almost lost in the twentieth century and now welcomed back into the Franciacorta DOCG as a fourth permitted variety.
Its very late ripening and bracing malic acidity give Franciacorta producers a native counterweight to Chardonnay and Pinot Nero.
1
Denominations
Wet stones
Green Apple
Lemon
Acacia
Apple blossom
Nettles
Serve
6–8°C
Decant
No
Glass
Flute Glass
Drink Within
1–2 days
Cellar
3–8 years
Discover the Italian wine denominations where Erbamat plays a starring role.
Erbamat's documented history reaches back to 1564, when the Brescian agronomist Agostino Gallo named it among the local vines, calling it 'albamate'. The name itself ties Latin albus, white, to a Lombard root for late, signalling the variety's defining trait: a maturation cycle that finishes twenty to thirty days after Chardonnay. For centuries the grape was grown across the morainic hillsides between Brescia, Ome, Gussago and Rodengo Saiano, then almost vanished as international varieties and mechanisation pushed it aside in the twentieth century.
Recovery began in the early 2000s under the Consorzio Franciacorta and Professor Leonardo Valenti of the University of Milan. Phenological monitoring confirmed the variety's value to a region facing earlier and warmer harvests. On 4 January 2017 Italy's Ministry of Agriculture cleared Erbamat for inclusion in the Franciacorta DOCG disciplinare, capped at ten per cent of the cuvee alongside Chardonnay, Pinot Nero and Pinot Bianco.
In the vineyard Erbamat shows medium-high vigour, compact bunches, thin yellow-green skins and small berries. Vinified almost exclusively in stainless steel at low temperatures, it yields wines of pale straw colour, aromas of citrus, green apple, white flowers and chalky minerality, and a notably lean, vertical palate driven by malic acidity and low alcohol. Wood is generally avoided, since it would mask this naturally restrained aromatic profile.
Roughly twenty-five hectares are now planted, almost entirely within the province of Brescia. Barone Pizzini leads with around four thousand vines, while Castello Bonomi, Ca' del Bosco, Guido Berlucchi, Ferghettina, Giuseppe Vezzoli and Ronco Calino have all committed plantings to the variety's experimental return.
Erbamat is an ancient white grape native to the Brescia hills of Lombardy, recovered from near-extinction and authorised in the Franciacorta DOCG cuvee since 2017. It is prized for very late ripening, high malic acidity and a lean, mineral profile.
Almost all Erbamat plantings sit within the province of Brescia in Lombardy, on morainic hillside soils across Franciacorta villages such as Rodengo Saiano, Ome, Gussago, Monticelli Brusati and Adro. The total surface area is around twenty-five hectares.
Erbamat is pale straw with green reflections. The nose offers citrus, green apple, white flowers and chalky minerality. The palate is very dry, lean and vertical, with vivid malic acidity, low alcohol and a clean, almost alpine finish.
The Consorzio Franciacorta championed Erbamat as a climate-change ally. Its late ripening and high malic acidity preserve freshness in cuvees when Chardonnay and Pinot Nero risk over-ripening, balancing Franciacorta's house style in warm vintages.
Yes, but very rarely. Within Franciacorta DOCG it may be used up to ten per cent of the blend alongside Chardonnay, Pinot Nero and Pinot Bianco. A handful of producers, led by Castello Bonomi since 2011, also bottle small experimental still releases.
Barone Pizzini is the leading grower with around four thousand vines. Other Franciacorta houses planting the variety include Castello Bonomi, Ca' del Bosco, Guido Berlucchi, Ferghettina, Giuseppe Vezzoli and Ronco Calino.
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