2022 Corte Gardoni "Nichesole" Chiaretto di Bardolino
2022 Corte Gardoni "Nichesole" Chiaretto di Bardolino

When Chiaretto di Bardolino Fulfills Its Promise

250 Words (Or So) on a Rosé with More Than Some Semblance of Terroir

2 min read

Rosé rarely reveals terroir. By its very nature, the maceration is often too short to really extract the interesting details in the skins that could say something about place. Because of this, a lot of producers reserve their best grapes for red wines, the juicier and simple ones for a quenching rosé, and call then it a day. Besides: if you are interested in terroir, why not just wait for the red wine to come out?

There is no way this wine comes from the south of France, or from a winemaker giving it second-rate grapes.

File under: Only From Lake Garda.

But things are a little different amidst the vineyards surrounding the colossal Lake Garda in Veneto: a terroir-centric rosé movement is afoot, centered on the style known as Chiaretto di Bardolino. Corte Gardoni is one of its leaders.

“The moraines flanking Garda are a salmagundi of soils,” wine writer, friend and rosé expert Meg Maker has written about the area. Her focus on the science behind wine has always illuminated many pathways for understanding terroir, and in this case, she notes, the rosé of Bardolino benefits in some mysterious way by “magnesium salts and other minerals scoured from the Dolomites.” From the air, Lake Garda and its surroundings indeed look exactly as they are: a dumping ground for the Dolomite’s steady deterioration and erosion. It all ended up down here thanks to glaciers, and the vine roots have to probe deeply to find what they need.

“Nichesole” is unstoppable in its deliciousness, partly because of the acidity’s ideal level of momentum on the palate. There is no way this wine comes from the south of France, or from a winemaker giving it second-rate grapes. File under: Only From Lake Garda.

2022 Corte Gardoni “Nichesole” Chiaretto di Bardolino

Corte Gardoni 2022 "Nichesole" Chiaretto di Bardolino rosé wineBardolino DOC (Veneto )
Grapes: Corvina (45%), Rondinella (25%), Molinara (25%), Barbera (3%), Sangiovese (2%)
Alcohol: 12.5%
Opinion: ★★★★ 3/4
Food-friendliness: Impeccable
Value: Exceptional

   

A beginner might like … the specific recollections of ripe peaches coming from the aromas and flavors of this wine, and how they shift over a night into something more strawberry-like.

A wine obsessive might like … making this your go-to rosé for an entire summer. Highly versatile, abundantly flavorful and on the lower side of alcohol (typically 12.5% ABV), it will be noticed and talked about by guests of your BBQs and dinner parties.

 

Note: This wine was provided by the winery’s importer upon an editorial request from me. Learn more about our editorial policies.

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