This is a charming Chiaretto, certified organic. The blend is 60 percent Corvina, 20 percent Corvinone, and 20 percent Rondinella, and the grapes were macerated cold for a day before pressing. The must was vinified in a mix of barrique and neutral vessels, and the wine aged for three to six months on lees with regular stirring before bottling.
It’s fruity, redolent of peach, pineapple, and strawberry. The palate continues the theme: juicy, with abundant berry fruit. While technically dry, its 3 g/L of residual sugar amplifies the fruit and makes it sit like nectar on the palate. Thankfully there is firm balancing acidity. My one beef with this wine is that the bottle weighs a hefty (and unnecessary) 918 grams, more that the wine itself by a large margin and about the same as glass used for sparkling wine.
Read more about the special charms of Chiaretto di Bardolino in the feature I wrote after visiting the region in 2019: Clearly Bardolino.
2021 Monte Novo Phasianus Chiaretto di Bardolino DOC
13% ABV | About $10 (sample; unclear if there is U.S. availability)
