Giuseppe Quintarelli - Alzero Cabernet Veneto 2012
Price: $399.99
| Producer | Giuseppe Quintarelli |
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| Country | Italy |
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| Region | Veneto |
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| Varietal | Bordeaux Blend |
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| Vintage | 2012 |
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| Sku | 27458 |
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Take Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot and pass them through the life cycle of Quintarelli’s Amarone technique, and you have a Bordeaux blend like you have never tasted before. Deep, regal, and unforgettable.
Blend: 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Cabernet Franc, 20% Merlot
• Harvested before most other grapes, at the end of August and beginning of September
• Careful selection of grapes during harvest
• After harvest, grapes sit in wooden boxes or on rush mats
• Dried grapes are pressed in mid-December
• Grapes are pressed and after 20 days of maceration, alcoholic fermentation begins with indigenous yeasts
• Fermentation lasts approximately 50 days
• Wine is then aged in French barrels for two or three years, then racked into Slavonian oak barrels for four more years
• During this aging process, additional alcoholic fermentations take place
Wine Advocate: 96 Points
The Quintarelli Giuseppe 2012 Cabernet Alzero (packaged in a heavy glass bottle) is a stunning wine that delivers a level of cautious brawn, intensity and fruit weight that sets this wine apart within the portfolio. The blend is 40% Cabernet Franc, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot, and the grapes all undergo a few months of appassimento. I've been asked about possible perception of VA (volatile acidity) that can sometimes appear in wines made with air-dried fruit. As a much-respected Italian colleague once told me, "serve a dare spalla," ("it gives a shoulder to the wine"), and I can't help but admire the beautifully lifted and upright quality of the bouquet that appears especially radiant and buoyant in this wine. The magic, whatever it is, works.
