Recioto Della Valpolicella Classico Vigneto Le Novaje DOCG (2017)

Bottles produced:  2,000

Grapes:  Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella and Oseleta.

Colour:  Deep garnet.

Alcohol by volume:  13%

ecoVINO says:  Recioto is the oldest winemaking style in Valpolicella, with a history dating back to the ancient Greeks and Romans. Recioto is a delicious sweet red wine that follows a similar winemaking process to Amarone wine. This Recioto DOCG is an outstanding and uniquely sweet and moreish red wine. This dessert wine is incredibly well-structured and balanced, offering lots of intensity and complexity. With a bottle size of 500ml, this wine is very drinkable now or if stored properly can age until at least 2027.

Aroma:  Pronounced ripe blackcurrant, black cherry and red plum aromas - with floral hints of parma violet and gladiolus. Secondary and tertiary aromas include dark chocolate, clove and tobacco.

Taste:  Sweet with medium acidity and low tannins. Rich, silky and full-bodied with medium alcohol. Pronounced extra ripe black fruit flavours - particularly blackcurrant jam, plum and cherry - with delightful hints of vanilla, almond and clove on the finish.

Food pairing:  This exceptional sweet wine is best to drink with dry, chocolate or spicy desserts, bitter chocolate and dried fruits. Can also be paired with other sharp and salty food items.

Open:  To fully appreciate the complexity of this wine, best to decant 1 hour before service.

Service temperature:  Lightly chilled or at room temperature (13 to 18 degrees Celsius).

Winemaking process:  Extra ripe grapes are carefully handpicked and then dried naturally for about 140 days. Over this period, the grapes lose around 40 to 50% of their water. After de-stemming and soft crushing the grapes, delestage fermentation is carried out at a maximum of 15 degrees Celsius in stainless steel tanks for between 40 to 50 days - including 10 days of cold pre-fermentative maceration on grape marcs. Wine is transferred to wooden barrels for malolactic fermentation - leaving high residual sugars on completion. Through a process known as Bâtonnage, the settled lees are then stirred back through the wine. Maturation for 12 months in wooden barrels and for a further 6 months inside the bottle.

Allergens:  Minimal sulphites - lower than EU organic wine production requirements.