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Tasting note
An idiosyncratic wine from an idiosyncratic estate. Brothers Alessandro and Nicola Castellani run Cà la Bionda in the Marano Valley as the fourth generation – with the declared ambition of presenting Valpolicella as the Burgundy of Italy: elegance over power, balance over concentration. This single-varietal Corvinone is a case apart: only in outstanding years is the finest Corvinone from the Ravazzol single vineyard site diverted from the Amarone and bottled separately. The result is a bold, juicy, immensely serious wine of just 12.5 per cent alcohol.
- Colour & appearance
- Dense, dark cherry red with delicate brownish reflections and a fine bluish tinge – mature and serious, without losing any depth.
- Nose
- Complexity rather than primary fruit: rosehip, sweet and sour cherry, plum and barberry, accompanied by a distinctive earthy note of beetroot and damp soil. Tobacco leaves, cigar box and cedar meet a warm spice palette of roasted clove, heated fennel seed, caraway, juniper and allspice. Herbal-spicy accents of parsley, savoury and marjoram round off a profound, umami-driven picture.
- Palate
- Concise, juicy and astonishingly moreish. The tannins remain restrained, while a distinctive, crisp acidity carries the proceedings and triggers salivation without ever becoming aggressive. The fruit appears secondary and mature; herbal spice, earthiness and savoury notes set the tone. Despite its substance, the wine is never heavy – it thrives on the contrasts between maturity and freshness, spice and juiciness.
- Finish
- Long and spicy, with balsamic herbs, ripe fruit and fine hints of coffee, dark chocolate and gentle roasted notes.
- Terroir & origin
- Terraced steep slopes between 150 and 300 metres with an east-south-east exposure in the Marano Valley. The clay-limestone soil with a high stone content lends the wines freshness, minerality and elegance – the hallmark of Cà la Bionda. The estate has been farmed organically since 2012; native Brogna sheep graze between the vines.
- Grape variety & vinification
- 100% Corvinone Veronese from the Ravazzol single vineyard site. Fermentation takes place with whole bunches in open 1,000-litre wooden vats, after which the wine matures for around 20 months in the same vessels – traditional, aged in large wooden casks, terroir-driven.
- Food recommendations
- The earthy, spicy, juicy structure calls for Bistecca alla Fiorentina, duck breast with cherries, pappardelle with game ragù, mature Monte Veronese or a mushroom risotto.
- Special features
- A pure Corvinone from the selection of the top Amarone parcel – this variety is rarely bottled on its own here. Umami, herbal spice and freshness instead of alcohol and power: the signature of the estate in its purest form.
