Ca’ Rugate L’Eremita Recioto della Valpolicella 2020 (50cl)
£28.45
The wine
A luscious and velvety textured wine, full of intense black fruit and berry notes with hints of wild herbs and spice, complemented by a beautifully balanced sweetness. The sweet counterpart to Amarone.
Recioto della Valpolicella came first and Amarone came from it: the story goes that a barrel was forgotten, fermented all the way dry, and the mistake turned out to be worth repeating. This is the original sweet version, made from the same dried Corvina grapes but with fermentation halted while sugar remains. Serve with hard cheese as readily as pudding.
The producer
Ca’ Rugate
View all Ca’ Rugate winesThe Tessari family have handed this business down since the early 1900s, renaming it Ca' Rugate in 1986 after the volcanic hills where the vineyards sit. Michele, of the fourth generation, has brought considerable energy: a technologically advanced new cellar, and expansion into Valpolicella with vineyards in the hills of Montecchia di Crosara. The estate now runs to 90 hectares.
The volcanic soil is the thread running through everything. Soave sits on the remains of ancient eruptions, and the black basalt beneath the Classico zone gives Garganega a mineral, smoky character that the sandier valley floor cannot match. Garganega is a much-maligned grape, largely because Soave was made in enormous quantity and indifferent quality through the second half of the twentieth century, and estates like this one have spent decades repairing the damage.
In Valpolicella the family work the full range of styles, from fresh red through Ripasso to Amarone, and the two sweet Recioto wines are made in the manner both appellations used long before their dry versions existed. Ca' Rugate has taken Gambero Rosso's Tre Bicchieri many times over.
