When you think of top-tier Valpolicella producers, Tommaso Bussola has a superstar reputation and following. And if you haven’t tasted a Recioto, add this wine to your tasting bucket list.
Bussola is located in the Valpolicella region in the Veneto (think north and west of Venice) in Italy. The land here is characterized by eleven north-south valleys that descend from the pre-alpine Lessini Mountains to the fertile plains of the Po Valley. Can you just imagine these valleys lined with vineyards? Next time I travel to Italy, I simply must pay a visit. All five senses will be on hyperdrive, especially my taste buds with so much Valpolicella wine to explore.
Valpolicella Classico on the wine label denotes this wine was made from grapes sourced from the heartland of the region, its traditional and longest-established viticultural area. These sites are prized in comparison to others, as grapes will typically achieve higher levels of sugar and phenolic ripeness. This translates to bigger, bolder, more richly concentrated wines—exactly what you want in a Recioto or Amarone.
What is Recioto? Recioto is a dessert wine that is made from grapes that are harvested very late, allowing time to concentrate sugars within the fruit while still on the vine. Usually hand harvested, these grapes will subsequently undergo appassimento—they will be dried and raisinated, traditionally on straw mats, to concentrate sugars even further. By law, this drying process must extend into December after the harvest. For this wine, however, the drying process continued to the middle of January.
With so much sugar for yeasts to consume, fermentation takes a very long time. In fact, yeasts struggle in this high-sugar environment and eventually stop fermenting due to rising alcohol levels. As yeasts do not consume all available sugars in this case, plenty of sweetness is left behind for your sipping fancy. And there you go! The resulting wine is Recioto.
As a side note, if fermentation continues to dryness, (technically, less than 12 g/l of residual sugar), then you have Amarone. And if you haven’t danced with Amarone yet, this wine also belongs on your tasting bucket list.
Another side note, in the spirit of esoteric wine knowledge, is the meaning of Recioto. Recioto is derived from the Italian word for ear, orecchio. This wine was originally produced from only the ripest grapes in the bunch, from the upper lobes or ears, although selected whole bunches are now commonly used. Boom! Do you feel smarter?
The 2009 Bussola Recioto was made of 50% Corvina and Corvinone, 30% Rondinella, and 15% Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Croatina, Dindarella, and Merlot. The cépage for the 2012 vintage is slightly different, with 50% Corvina and Corvinone, 30% Rondinella, 5% Molinara, and 15% Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, etc.
Primary aromas and flavors of both vintages included crushed black cherry, fig, prune, raisin, dried red cherry, licorice, and dried roses. Tertiary notes unfolded to dark chocolate, caramel, almond, leather, tobacco spices, smoke, black truffles, fig preserves, honey, and blackberry cobbler. The structure of both vintages was the same. Both wines were sweet, with medium (+) acidity, high alcohol, pronounced aroma and flavor intensity, full body, medium (+) tannins, and long finish. Both wines offered divine richness and complexity, to say the least.
If I were to compare the two vintages, the 2009 was more savory and earthy, with more pronounced honey and fig preserves—what I would expect from a wine with additional age. Both wines could certainly age for another 20 years, ready to twinkle in the glass and dance on your palate with opulent fruit. Bravo, Bussola!
