A deep garnet red colour baring witness to the long barrel ageing. The first impression on the nose is of fresh black cherry aromas, leading into notes of maraschino cherry and plum. Immense depth and complexity on the palate: dried fruit, oolong tea, liquorice, spice, red-berry fruits, and a long velvety vanilla note on the finish. However, the key to this wine has got to be the sweetness level. It is genuinely dry. This is a fine companion for late night ponderings in an easy chair; either on one's own or quietly with a friend.
Notes: Made from Corvina and Rondinella grapes from the slopes around Villa Novare in the Valpolicella Classica area. To the east, the soils are calcareous marls, whilst the western part of the vineyard has a thin layer of topsoil over limestone. The vines are guyot trained with a density of 5,000 plants per hectare. The harvest takes place around the second week of September; grapes are picked by hand to maintain whole bunches. A selection of the best, perfectly ripe and healthy bunches is then transported to the drying loft under the winery eaves and laid out on cane mats ('aréle') for drying ('appassimento'). After about 120 days, the grapes become denser, the flavours gain complexity and the sugars reach 17% potential alcohol. In mid-January the grapes are picked off the bunches and crushed. Ageing in wood takes around six years in large Slavonian oak casks. After bottling, the wines are stored for at least another year before release. |
