Giuseppe Quintarelli Alzero Cabernet Cabernet IGP

Cabernet Sauvignon that begins like Amarone: a month of drying time on straw mats before the concentrated grapes become wine. The result is a red wine with unusual depth — and eight years of aging in large wooden barrels, which make it soft and multi-layered.

The Alzero from Giuseppe Quintarelli is one of the most stylistically idiosyncratic wines in the Veneto. Quintarelli, the patriarch of Negrar who died in 2012, applied this appassimento method to Cabernet Sauvignon — a decision that was unorthodox at the time and is now considered a benchmark. Today, the family continues to run the business in his spirit: no compromises on ripening times, no pressure from fashion trends.

On the nose, it shows dried plum, ripe sour cherry, and dried fig, underpinned by vanilla and cinnamon from the long wood contact. A hint of marzipan and fresh mint give the bouquet an unexpected lightness. In the mouth, it is carried by a lively acidity that preserves freshness despite the concentration. The tannins are fine-grained and completely integrated — no scratching, just structure.

Drinking recommendation: Now with game ragù, brasato al Barolo, or aged Pecorino. Drinking temperature 17–18 °C.