The Ca' del Merlo single vineyard bottling allows the winery to involve a dash more "other" varieties than the Valpolicella rules allow, and in Quintarelli's case, this distinction is not a big deal. This bottling is around 55% Corvina & Corvinone, 15% Rondinella, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon & Cabernet Franc, 15% Merlot, 5% Nebbiolo, Croatina, and Sangiovese.
VINOUS 95 POINTS - "The 2018 Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ca' del Merlo wafts up with an incredibly pretty, savory bouquet of dried Mediterranean herbs, geranium and citrus-tinged wild strawberries. It displays depths of ripe red and blue fruits underscored by crisp mineral tones as rosy inner florals arch across the palate, all over a core of tantalizing acidity. The finish is floral and long, leaving a tart sensation of raspberry as hints of lavender fade slowly. This is a supremely elegant and refined vintage for Ca' del Merlo." - Eric Guido
Winemaking is the same for their Valpolicella:
50% of grapes are pressed immediately after harvest, 50% are dried for 2 months.
After 3-4 days of maceration, primary fermentation starts with indigenous yeasts.
Wine is racked onto the lees of the Amarone which starts a second alcoholic fermentation (this process is called ripasso).
After this fermentation, the wine is racked into large Slavonian oak barrels for seven years.
The wines of Quintarelli are more a celebration of a region and its history and techniques than of specific grape varieties or terroirs. They are really more about the art of the blend, the patience of extended aging in cask and bottle, and the use of appassimento and ripasso techniques to further enhance complexity and age-worthiness. Always more primary than the Valpolicella, it showcases dark, palate-staining fruit that one must marvel at, given the wine’s age. Cà del Merlo is succulent and luscious, balanced beautifully by the imprint of the stony limestone and basalt hills on which the grapes are grown.
Organic and Biodynamic
Taste - Chocolate, mocha, fig, earth, raisin, cranberry, plum, currant, blackberry, cherry, bell pepper, olive, asparagus, spice, ginger, oak and vanilla.
Nose - Chocolate, mocha, fig, earth, raisin, cranberry, plum, currant, blackberry, cherry, cedar and cigar box.
VINOUS 95 POINTS - "The 2018 Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ca' del Merlo wafts up with an incredibly pretty, savory bouquet of dried Mediterranean herbs, geranium and citrus-tinged wild strawberries. It displays depths of ripe red and blue fruits underscored by crisp mineral tones as rosy inner florals arch across the palate, all over a core of tantalizing acidity. The finish is floral and long, leaving a tart sensation of raspberry as hints of lavender fade slowly. This is a supremely elegant and refined vintage for Ca' del Merlo." - Eric Guido
Winemaking is the same for their Valpolicella:
50% of grapes are pressed immediately after harvest, 50% are dried for 2 months.
After 3-4 days of maceration, primary fermentation starts with indigenous yeasts.
Wine is racked onto the lees of the Amarone which starts a second alcoholic fermentation (this process is called ripasso).
After this fermentation, the wine is racked into large Slavonian oak barrels for seven years.
The wines of Quintarelli are more a celebration of a region and its history and techniques than of specific grape varieties or terroirs. They are really more about the art of the blend, the patience of extended aging in cask and bottle, and the use of appassimento and ripasso techniques to further enhance complexity and age-worthiness. Always more primary than the Valpolicella, it showcases dark, palate-staining fruit that one must marvel at, given the wine’s age. Cà del Merlo is succulent and luscious, balanced beautifully by the imprint of the stony limestone and basalt hills on which the grapes are grown.
Organic and Biodynamic
Taste - Chocolate, mocha, fig, earth, raisin, cranberry, plum, currant, blackberry, cherry, bell pepper, olive, asparagus, spice, ginger, oak and vanilla.
Nose - Chocolate, mocha, fig, earth, raisin, cranberry, plum, currant, blackberry, cherry, cedar and cigar box.
