Valpolicella is often mistaken for something light and forgettable, a red to drink young and cold. This is not that. From Villa Girardi in the Veneto, it is a blend of Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara, the three grapes the DOC has always been built on, and 2021 gave the region a warm, even growing season.
- Corvina, Rondinella, Molinara — the classic Valpolicella blend.
- Valpolicella DOC, Veneto, northern Italy.
- 2021, a warm and generous vintage in the Veneto.
- 12.5% abv, medium body, dry.
- High acidity, medium tannin.
How it is made
Valpolicella DOC sits in the hills north of Verona, where the vineyards run up towards Lake Garda and the Lessini mountains. Corvina does most of the work in the blend, with Rondinella and Molinara alongside it, the same three grapes the appellation has always required. This is the fresh, unwooded style of the zone, not the dried-grape Amarone made from the same hills.
How it tastes
Red cherry and sour cherry first, then a bitter almond note that is the signature of Corvina, and a lift of dried herbs. The acidity is high and keeps it bright rather than heavy, with light tannins that stay in the background. Medium in body, dry, and lower in alcohol than most reds on a list.
Good to know
Valpolicella is one of the few Italian appellations where the grape that defines it, Corvina, is rarely grown anywhere else in the world. The almond bitterness on the finish is not a fault, it is the grape telling you what it is.
Contains alcohol.
