“Casotto del Merlo” Recioto della Valpolicella DOCG 2022 dolce

Giuseppe Campagnola | Veneto
Campagnola Giuseppe S.p.A. | Via Agnella 9 | IT 37020 Marano di Valpolicella

03092522 · 0,5 l · 39,80 €/l · Price (DE) incl. VAT, excl. Shippingavailable immediately

Anyone who knows Amarone knows it from the history of Recioto. According to tradition, Italy's most famous red wine was created by chance: a Recioto that was fermented too long in the barrel – until none of the sweetness remained. What began as a mistake became a legend. But the Recioto itself, the older of the two, was almost forgotten. Wrongly so. In Valpolicella Classico, the upper, wide-open wings of the grape panicles are called "Recie" – ears. It is these wings that hang the highest, are most exposed to the sun and ripen the most. They are carefully selected for the Recioto and harvested by hand – at the end of September, when the season has reached its peak in the hills of Marano di Valpolicella on calcareous Eocene soils between 200 and 350 metres.

What follows is patience. The grapes – corvina Veronese and Corvinone at 70 per cent, Rondinella at 30 per cent – are spread out on wooden racks in the appassitoio and dried for at least 140 days. They lose a third to two-fifths of their weight in the process. What remains is concentrated essence. Pressing begins in January, cool fermentation, 30 days of contact with the mash – then fermentation is stopped when around 130 grams of sugar per Liters remain in the wine. No wood. Only steel below 4°C, ten months on the fine lees, then bottled. Pure fruit concentrate, no interference.

Casotto del Merlo – the blackbird house – is the name Campagnola has given this Recioto. A small bird house in the vineyards of Valpolicella: unagitated, rural, familiar. Deep ruby red in the glass with garnet reflections. The nose is fruity and ethereal: fresh cherry, marasca, red berries, a hint of spice and that velvety depth that only drying gives. Sweet and full-bodied on the palate, carried by a freshness that keeps the sweetness in motion – no heavy melting, but elegant concentration. The finish is long, with a light, typical bitter note at the end that grounds the wine. SUPERIORE.DE