Ca’ dei Frati, Pietro Dal Cero Amarone della Valpolicella

A deep ruby red in colour. The bouquet shows black cherries, chocolate and sweet spice aromas. The palate brings balsamic notes emerge to reveal aniseed and wild mint. Great body and acidity, remarkable mineral elegance and prominent yet supple tannins. The finish is long and rounded with delicate hints of coffee and sweet tobacco notes.

Ca’ dei Frati was founded in 1939 when Felice Dal Cero settled on the Lombardy side of the Lugana appellation. It’s called Ca’ dei Frati or 'friar house', because it was once owned by monks who grew grapes there. Soil types play a fundamental role in crafting Ca’ dei Frati’s fresh, fruit- and mineral-driven wines. Lake Garda was created during the Eocene era, some 35 million years ago, by a melting glacier. As the melting ice flowed south from what we now call the Italian Alps, it also brought glacial deposits. Today, these rocky and pebbly 'morainic' soils are ideal for the production of fine wine. Because the roots of the vines have to work harder to find the water table in the well-drained soils, their fruit production becomes more vigorous. The quality of the wines is attributable directly to Igino Dal Cero’s obsession with detail. All their fruit is picked by hand. As a result, the grapes are richer in aroma and flavour, with more complexity and depth. This increase in quantity has been matched by an increase in quality, and today they remain the best producer in Lugana.