L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2019 www.italoamericano.org 24 L'Italo-Americano Bardolino: charm and drinkability I f you're old enough to re- member the Bardolino wi- nes of 15 or even 10 years ago, you are in for a pleasant surprise: Bardolino today has a new personality, one that is light, elegant, reminiscent of Pi- not Noir or Beaujolais Village in style and weight. For those unfamiliar, Bardo- lino is a pale ruby-colored wine made in the province of Verona, offering incredible charm and drinkability. Bardolino's production area can be found along the Verona- side southern quadrant of Lake Garda. The territory's glacial soil is high in sodium conferring a certain salinity to the wines. I'm told that Bardolino summers are not too hot, neither is winter too hard. So much so, in fact, that le- mon trees notably grow in the re- gion. Under newly approved regu- lation, Bardolino can be produced from Corvina Veronese, up to 95%, with another local Veronese variety, Rondinella, doing mini- mum 5% duty, up to 40%. Simi- lar-sounding Corvinone can sub- stitute Corvina Veronese up to 20%. Other allowed grape varie- ties can constitute up to 20% of the Bardolino blend (not more than 10% each, except Molinara, 15%), most notably the indige- nous variety Molinara, although I understand that Molinara is rather disappearing from use (in Valpolicella wines, too). Regret- table, as I think Molinara adds a certain something to the recipe. (See my article Who Moved the Molinara?, L'Italo-Americano, November 2016). "In the know" wine lovers may recognize that the Bardolino blend utilizes wine grapes also used in the blend recipe of Val- policella wines. The wines, however, are quite different: Bar- dolino typically leans lighter in weight, lesser in structure, com- municating fresher fruit than do Valpolicella wines. Chiaretto – Bardolino made as a rosé - debuted a new style few years ago, one closer to what one might find of rosé in France, and not at all like a Cerasuolo from south Italy. Chiaretto saw more official changes in 2017, with Chiaretto di Bardolino and Bardolino going their separate ap- pellation ways, a direction which ultimately allows better brand de- velopment and differentiation for each. Chiaretto di Bardolino of- fers a different perspective as the wine is neither a white nor a red, differs still from Valpolicella wi- nes, and shows a great counter- point to Amarone. Worth men- tioning, too, is that the super fresh bouquet of Chiaretto can, in a good way, be closer to that of a white wine than a red. In an amendment adopted in 2018, three historic wine-produ- cing districts within the Bardolino zone have been recognized for their particular characteristics and are reflected in the Bardolino pro- duction disciplinare. Wines from the subzones – Sommacompagna, La Rocca, and Montebaldo – are recognized for their pronounced elegance and complexity. While there may indeed be some com- mercial motivation for the intro- duction of subzones, there is good evidence that subzoning, in this case, may actually offer a better architecture for interpre- ting the Bardolino / Chiaretto ter- ritory: "The soils of the morainic hills of the Bardolino zone are characterized by extreme varia- bility (the zoning programme has identified 66 different types), due to the deposits left by the glaciers that formed the basin of Lake Garda and, in part, by those that came down the valley of the Ri- ver Adige" (ilbardolino.com). If any of the aforementioned can be considered elements of a what might be even loosely construed as a Bardolino revival, then wine producer Matilde Poggi of the Le Fraghe estate must be reco- gnized as a champion force in the reawakening. Poggi, who brought in her first harvest in 1984, in the opinion of many, sets the benchmark for serious Bardolino. Her wines bear no re- semblance to the ill-made, cheap, often sweet, dead-simple exam- ples of Bardolino which one mi- ght possibly remember from years ago. In this, Poggi's wines have illuminated a path forward for Bardolino producers, resto- ring esteem to a somewhat (for- merly) tarnished Bardolino repu- tation. With well-made Bardolino, one can expect wines vibrant with freshness, fruity, with notes of spice, a rather typical and pleasant bitter almond note, showing impeccable balance. And although pale ruby in color, high quality Bardolino retains a beautiful brilliance of hue. The point of color is one this author feels necessary to mention as consumers will often correlate a wine's quality to its color, i.e., better wine equals deeply colored wine, which is simply not the case. To hold prejudice to Bar- dolino – or any wine, for that matter – based on a prejudgment relative to its color is perhaps the epitome of narrow-mindedness in wine. Don't be that person. Generally speaking, Bardo- lino wines can be consumed from one year after production up to five or six years. Recommended producers in- clude Cavalchina, Le Fraghe, Monte del Fra, Rizzardi. Tasting Note Le Fraghe Ròdon Bardolino Chiaretto A romantic and complex wine with notes of small red fruit, ro- ses, savory herb and saline. Well- muscled elegance, expressive subtleties, and an enduring finish. Bardolino is fresh, fruity and with spicy notes @ Studio Cru Bardolino wines are produced in the Veneto region of Italy, in the Verona area @ Studio Cru JOEL MACK WINE NEWS TRENDS PROFILES

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