Monte Santoccio Stella Recioto della Valpolicella 2019

The Recioto Stella comes from Fumane, in Valpolicella Classica, the historic birthplace of this sweet wine from Verona. The four hectares of the Monte Santoccio estate are spread across small hillside plots at around 300 metres, exposed to the wind and trained on the pergola trentina system on free-draining limestone soils and alluvial areas. This airy terroir yields healthy grapes, suited to late harvesting and long drying.

The grapes, harvested slightly overripe and sorted by hand, are left to dry in crates in the fruttaio until the depths of winter. A thirty-day cold pre-maceration precedes a very slow alcoholic fermentation of about a month, at a temperature that never exceeds 18 °C. The wine is then aged for twenty-four months in 500-litre French oak barrels. The 2019 vintage, a great classic, produced a timeless cuvée.

This wine reveals notes of prune, bitter almond, candied cherry, dried fig, blackberry, cinnamon, clove and cocoa. The fine garnet-red colour leads into an intense nose with balsamic touches. On the palate, the texture is supple and offers a harmonious balance between sweetness and restraint, with vibrant aromas and a spicy, persistent finish.

Ah, Italy, what a beautiful, hedonistic country, the land of la dolce vita, but how difficult it is to understand its wine industry! The key to understanding the appellation system in Italy is to think of it as several small countries rather than a single homogeneous nation, as each region has its own appellation system. Italy can offer wine lovers a multitude of wines with varied and unique flavors and styles, bottles brimming with surprise and creativity. Unfortunately, it also produces a large quantity of soulless, characterless wines sold under their most commercially useful and prestigious name: Pinot Grigio, Chianti, Valpolicella, Lambrusco, Prosecco, and many others... But let's talk a little history. Viticulture in Italy dates back to antiquity and originated in Greece. The Etruscans are said to have introduced the vine, and Greek immigrants improved and modified the grape varieties, subsequently calling the country "Oenotria": the land of wine. At the height of the Roman Empire, wine held an important place in daily life, and certain regions already distinguished themselves by the excellence of their product. The Romans also established numerous vineyards in Europe, leaving an indelible mark of their conquest. Today, Italy is the world's largest wine producer, ahead of France. Italy is divided into three climatic zones. The northern mountains have a rather harsh mountain climate. The plains of the "central boot" are characterized by a continental climate with cold winters and hot, stormy summers. In the southern part of the Italian boot, the Mediterranean climate prevails, with very hot and dry summers, not forgetting the islands of Sicily and Sardinia. In short, Italy produces a wide variety of wines thanks to its 200 different grape varieties, many of which originated in its own lands. It is a country as complex as its wines, which deserve to be explored!