Giuseppe Quintarelli Recioto della Valpolicella Classico 2007 (37.5cl, 15.5%)

This is a sweet Recioto della Valpolicella Classico from Giuseppe Quintarelli in Veneto, made from Corvina and filled in a 37.5cl half bottle at 15.5% abv. The grapes come from vineyard parcels chosen for Recioto, which takes its name from the 'ears', the sunlit upper shoulders of the bunch that ripen most. After harvest they rest on wooden boxes or rush mats to dry naturally. Noble rot appears from November and develops mostly in January, and the grapes are pressed at the end of that month. Fermentation with indigenous yeasts follows 20 days of maceration and lasts 45 days. The wine then spends five to six years in Slavonian oak barrels.