2023 Quintarelli Rosso "Primofiore", Veneto, Italy

ABOUT THIS WINE

The Primofiore is the youngest red wine released by Quintarelli Rosso's estate every year. A ‘field blend’ of Corvina, Corvinone, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The Cabernet is partially dried; all other grapes are freshly pressed. After harvest, grapes are left in wooden boxes to continue ripening. After pressing and fermentation, wine is aged for 3 in Slavonian oak barrels. Perfumed and elegant with notes of sweet tea leaf, dried flowers, mint and worn leather play nicely against a backdrop of ripe red berries. A vein of minerality runs throughout.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

From the Producer: The late, great Maestro del Veneto, Giuseppe Quintarelli, succeeded in establishing his mythical and legendary estate during an amazing sixty-year career. All of the tradition, love, heart, and soul of crafting one of the world’s finest wines continue at the Quintarelli home and winery in the hills north of Verona. Giuseppe’s daughter Fiorenza, his son-in-law Giampaolo, and his grandsons Francesco and Lorenzo are all keeping a close watch over the family’s legacy.

Multiple passages through the vineyards produce a myriad of wines, many produced using the appassimento technique whereby the grapes are dried on rush mats before being pressed and made into wine. From the delicious and seductive Bianco Secco, to the benchmark Valpolicella that created a revolution in the thinking about what it was possible to produce in this region, to the Rosso del Bepi and Amarones produced according to the quality of the harvest, to the otherworldly Recioto and the exceedingly rare Bandito, the sheer artistry and depth of the range is truly exceptional.