2024 Bertani - Recioto della Valpolicella Valpantena (500ml)

Bertani has helped define Veneto winemaking for more than 150 years, with a legacy so closely tied to Amarone that the two names are often mentioned in the same breath. Founded in 1857 by brothers Giovan Battista and Gaetano Bertani, the estate is anchored by the historic Villa Mosconi in Novare di Arbizzano di Negrar, a property closely linked to many traditional local practices. Bertani has long balanced deep respect for that history with a willingness to refine its methods, and it maintains one of the most extensive libraries of historic vintages in the region.

This Recioto is produced in the Valpantena, a valley north of Verona, from Corvina Veronese, Merlot, and Rondinella grown on vertical-trellised, Guyot-pruned vines set at high density on calcareous soils. Only the healthiest, best-exposed bunches are selected and left to dry naturally in Bertani's Grezzana winery for months, concentrating sugars and flavor before pressing. Fermentation is deliberately halted while significant residual sugar remains, and the wine then spends about a year aging in cherry wood barrels, a traditional choice that reinforces its dried-fruit character.

The result is a garnet-red dessert wine with aromas of wild berry jam, tobacco, chocolate, and licorice. The palate is plush and dense, finishing long and spicy with lingering notes of dark fruit and cocoa. It is well suited to serving alongside biscotti, aged blue cheese, or simply on its own as a meditation wine after dinner.