From Venice to the Dolomites

ELISABETTA DALZOCCHIO

The wait is over. After a two year hiatus the singular wine of Elisabetta Dalzocchio is finally back with us, and to celebrate we are offering a one off special case offer valid until the end of the month.

It was thanks to Italian wine specialist Walter Speller that we met Elisabetta at an organic wine fair in Verona many moons ago. She had just one wine, a Pinot Noir, made in the Burgundy style, from a tiny 2-hectare vineyard in the Dolomites above the town of Rovereto. The total production rarely exceeds 5,000 bottles, and is often closer to 2,500, if it is made at all. She seemed genuinely surprised there was so much interest in her mesmerising wine, but soon enough we were wrestling an allocation from buyers near and far.

The vineyard sits on a shelf of mountain limestone with an uninterrupted view of the mountains. French clones of Pinot Noir from Burgundy have been planted at high density, and the cultivation is certified organic, but is in fact biodynamic with many types of cover crops and other local flora encouraged to grow near and among the vines. The Burgundy influence is also found in the cellar, inspired by a visit to the iconic Domaine de la Romanée Conti, and she uses the same open-top wooden vat for fermentations as they do, as well as the same cooper for the barriques for ageing. The wine is bottled with no fining or filtration. Wines are typically released 3-4 years after the harvest, or when she thinks they can be approached.

It is a complex wine, always expressive of the year, and tightly wound despite its ethereal texture and lightness of touch. Delightful young, it has a great potential age, and should be given time to unfurl in a large glass.

The Offer

CLEMENTI

We have just received the new release from one of our most wonderful discoveries of last year, Clementi in Valpolicella, whose wines have proved such an instant hit with you.

The estate was founded in 1968 by lawyer turned winemaker Pietro Clementi out of a desire to revive the traditional style of Valpolicella and its local grape varieties, largely Corvina and Corvinone. He acquired 20 hectares of vineyard in the Marano valley and with the help of the locals learned how to make wine the old-fashioned way. The cultivation of the vines is in man-made terraces, called in the Verona dialect “marogne” and the training is the traditional, tall pergola of the Veneto, which helps maintain a core of freshness in all the wines. The soils here are poor, calcareous and ideal for the local varieties of Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, Molinara, Oseleta and Croatina.

As a former mayor of Marano di Valpolicella, and a lawyer with 50 years of experience, Pietro had no shortage of clients and friends locally. Many came to taste the Mayor’s Amarone. Now with the second generation at the helm the wines remain true to the spirit of Pietro’s vision. Their red wines encompass the breadth of styles in Valpolicella, from lighter and fresher Superiore to powerful and deep Amarone.