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More wines available from Bussola
750ml
Bottle:
$69.94
$72.00
A rich and harmonious red, with a creamy nappe to the texture, which drapes the supple tannins and carries the...
750ml
Bottle:
$176.93
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The 2011 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Vigneto Alto TB is youthfully inward and coy, with nuances of sweet...
750ml
Bottle:
$21.90
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This has an amarone feel to it, at least on the nose, with spicy dried berries and that signature, heady feel. The...
500ml
Bottle:
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The wine is of a brilliant and intense ruby colour. The nose offers intense aromas of a fruity nature. The taste is...
More Details
Winery
Bussola
Vintage: 2012
2012 has, so far been a positive year for wineries around the world. While it may be a little too early to speak of the wines being made in the northern hemisphere, European and North American wineries have already begun reporting that their harvesting season has been generally very good, and are predicting to continue with the kind of successes they saw in 2011. However, 2012 has been something of a late year for France, due to unpredictable weather throughout the summer, and the grapes were ripening considerably later than they did in 2011 (which was, admittedly, an exceptionally early year). French wineries are claiming, though, that this could well turn out to be advantageous, as the slow ripening will allow the resulting wines to express more flavour and features of the terroir they are grown in.
The southern hemisphere has seen ideal climatic conditions in most of the key wine producing countries, and Australia and New Zealand particularly had a superb year, in particular with the Bordeaux varietal grapes that grow there and which love the humidity these countries received plenty of. Also enjoying a fantastic year for weather were wineries across Argentina and Chile, with the Mendoza region claiming that 2012 will be one of their best vintages of the past decade. Similar claims are being made across the Chilean wine regions, where Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon had an especially good year. These two grape varietals also produced characterful wines on the coastal regions of South Africa this year.
Varietal: Corvina Blend
Corvina varietal grapes have been grown in Italy for well over a thousand years, and are most closely associated with the coastal region of Veneto, where they are used to fantastic effect in the finest wines of the region. Most notably, Corvina grapes are used as a primary varietal in the blended Amarone and Valpolicella wines – two aged wines which make the most of the potential Corvina has for maturation. The rather high acidity levels in Corvina grapes make them an excellent candidate for aging, as the acids mellow over time and reveal their wonderfully complex and deep flavors of sour cherries and almonds. The thick skins of the Corvina grapes result in a bright crimson wine, and the skins themselves have relatively low tannin levels, making these wines very drinkable and delightfully light in body.
Region: Veneto
As historically one of the most important regions in the world regarding trade and experimentation, it comes as no surprise to discover that Veneto has always been a well respected and innovative wine region. This area of north-easterly area of Italy benefits greatly from a continental climate tempered by the Alps, and plenty of influence from the Germanic countries it is near to. Veneto is most commonly associated with beautifully elegant white wines, such as those of Soave, and has over ninety thousand hectares under vine. Impressively, within that area, over a third of the vineyards in the Veneto region have been granted official AOC status, and many of the sub-regions and appellations of Veneto have gone on to be world-famous in regards to quality. One such example is Valpolicella, where some of Italy's finest and most complex red wines are produced.
Country: Italy
There are few countries in the world with a viticultural history as long or as illustrious as that claimed by Italy. Grapes were first being grown and cultivated on Italian soil several thousand years ago by the Greeks and the Pheonicians, who named Italy 'Oenotria' – the land of wines – so impressed were they with the climate and the suitability of the soil for wine production. Of course, it was the rise of the Roman Empire which had the most lasting influence on wine production in Italy, and their influence can still be felt today, as much of the riches of the empire came about through their enthusiasm for producing wines and exporting it to neighbouring countries. Since those times, a vast amount of Italian land has remained primarily for vine cultivation, and thousands of wineries can be found throughout the entire length and breadth of this beautiful country, drenched in Mediterranean sunshine and benefiting from the excellent fertile soils found there. Italy remains very much a 'land of wines', and one could not imagine this country, its landscape and culture, without it.