Rondinella, Corvina, Cabernet Sauvignon

75cl * 15.0% ABV * Veneto, Italy

This Valpolicella Classico Superiore is produced in the Veneto region of northern Italy at the estate of the late Giuseppe Quintarelli, one of the true icons of Italian wine until his death in 2012. Today, the Quintarelli family still farm the vines and produce wines of the same outstanding quality.

This wine is made up of 50/50 air-dried and fresh grapes, and aged for seven years in Slavonian oak. With 2016 being a particularly stunning year, the result is a juicy, voluptuous wine with a fresh, silky palate. There is spiced dark fruit, cigar leaf and liquorice, invigorated by a vibrant acidity and good minerality on the finish.

‘The 2016 Valpolicella Classico Superiore is wild and exotic in the glass, with a spicy burst of citrus and hints of graphite that give way to crushed blackberries and incense. This is a juicy and vibrant interpretation of Quintarelli Valpolicella, with a wave of mineral-tinged wild berry fruit that washes across the palate, guided by stimulating acidity. It tapers off on a note of refinement, still quite mineral and classically dry, with a coating of fine tannins that add a pleasantly crunchy sensation. Since no Amarone was produced in 2016, the Valpolicella received a percentage of that fruit, propelling this beauty to the next level.’– 93pts, Eric Guido, Robert Parker.com (December 2023)