Ca’ Rugate Rio Albo Valpolicella 2025 (37.5cl)
£8.75
The wine
Vibrant aromas of red fruit, blackberry and cherry are layered with violet notes and a hint of spice. Supple on the palate, with a velvety texture and a nice bite of freshness on the finish. The half bottle suits a smaller table.
Valpolicella in its simplest form is a fresh, unoaked red built on Corvina with Corvinone and Rondinella in support. Corvina gives the sour cherry fruit and the bitter almond finish that marks the region. Made for early drinking, good lightly chilled, and the half bottle is a sensible format for a wine of this style.
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.
