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Tasting note
- Colour & appearance
- Medium-intense, transparent ruby red with brick-red reflections at the rim – visually a wine of finesse rather than weight.
- Nose
- Distinct red fruit: sweet and sour cherries, alongside roasted almonds, dried fruit and the tart note of blackthorn. A fine ribbon of spice comprising black cardamom, black pepper and allspice lends depth without obscuring the cool clarity of the fruit.
- Palate
- A confident opening, wild cherry and raspberry fruit, shimmering and transparent. The supremely elegant tannins dust the edges of the tongue like the finest magnesium, creating an almost electric pull. Exquisite extract, lively acidity – a wine of tension rather than mass.
- Finish
- An orchestral aftertaste, a long finish in which fruit, spice and minerality continue to converse long after.
- Terroir & origin
- The grapes come from the single vineyard site Ravazzol in the Marano Valley, the historic heart of Valpolicella Classico. At 200 to 300 metres, vines over 60 years old are rooted in soils of clay and limestone, interspersed with rocks and scree. The east-south-east orientation of the terraces ensures slow, even ripening; the naturally low yields of five to six tonnes per hectare concentrate the wine organically.
- Grape variety & vinification
- Pure Corvina Veronese – for Alessandro Castellani, “a wild Pinot Noir”. Harvesting takes place in up to four passes over four weeks; the grapes from the first selection are briefly dried and then pressed together with those picked later. Fermentation occurs in open 1,000-litre wooden vats, followed by 36 months of ageing in a closed vat. This wine is only vinified in years when summer and autumn strike the right balance.
- Food pairings
- A noble choice with risotto with radicchio, duck breast with cherries, rack of lamb with a herb crust or a robust wild boar ragù with polenta. Also a delight alongside mature Monte Veronese.
- Special features
- A Valpolicella in the spirit of Burgundy: Alessandro Castellani, who honed his craft under Paolo de Marchi in Tuscany, consistently opts for freshness and elegance rather than power and alcohol – at just 13.5% ABV, this wine is impressive proof. That the brothers sacrifice old Ravazzol vines for this single-varietal wine, vines that could equally bear Amarone, reveals the standing of this bottle within the estate. The property has been farmed organically since 2012; rare Brogna sheep graze between the rows.
