Le Vigne di San Pietro I Balconi Rossi 2001
I’ve cellared this bottle since 2004, and time has been gracious to it. Today, it has shown the complexity and interest of a maturing wine: an experience that no young wine, no matter how compelling, can emulate.
The Veneto I Balconi Rossi 2001 is a Valpolicella-styled wine that does not come from Valpolicella. Technically it originates from Bardolino, but Le Vigne di San Pietro’s owner, Carlo Nerozzi, is too serious and ambitious for the lowly, trattoria-sullen image of the Bardolino appellation. (In fact, I regret this, because his wines would help elevate this very image, but that’s another story). In brief, the ‘Red Balconies’ are made with the typical grape variety of Verona and Valpolicella: Corvina, with splashes of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
Normally you don’t expect Valpolicella to age seven or eight years, and certainly not Bardolino. It is inferred that in order to age, Corvina has so be slightly or totally dried, as in the famous amarone or the intermediate ripasso style. Here there is no drying, but the wine is made substantial and ageworthy through low yields, long extraction, and ageing in oak. ‘French-styled’ is perhaps not a bad term, given the vaguely Bordeauxesque architecture of this bottling (and the less vaguely one of Nerozzi’s top bottling, the Refolà Cabernet).
At seven years of age this wine is showing no signs of tiring. Upon opening it is showing fairly oaky and one-dimensional, but changes significantly for the better with a few minutes of airing. Clearly a maturing wine but still with quite some substance, this is a modern, dark-fruity rendition of Corvina with a pleasant balance of meaty, spicy, fat, and fruity elements. Rich, attractive, with Corvina’s typically high acidity hidden at first but asserting itself increasingly over time. With its nice complexity and spice, this is a lovely wine to try with stewed or roast meats: Verona’s classic of pastissada de caval (horse meat stew) would do wonder here, but I’ve had equal fun with a tajine-style veal roast with root vegetables.