Villa Calicantus 2018 Chiar'otto Rosato

Pierre's new favourite wine.
Villa Calicantus biodynamically farms their small vineyard on the western shore of Lake Garda. The Corvina, Rondinella, Molinara and Sangiovese vines the wine comes from are over 50 years old. Fruit is handpicked and left on skins overnight before it gets racked off into barrels where ages for the next 8  months. The Chiar'otto is considered too atypical to be labeled under the Bardolino Chiaretto DOC, so the winemaker Daniele Deliani labels it as a humble vino rosato. Daniele's play with the word Chiaretto into Chiar'otto, is in reference to his wife's name Chiara and his daughters birthdate otto (8th). The Chiar'otto is very energetic on the palate with notes of wild berries, grapefruit and hints of an herbal character. The wine has good acidity, and a definite energy with a shifting character, sometimes showing more the red fruit and sometimes slightly bitter and herbal.