Michele Castellani Recioto della Valpolicella Classico Il Casale Collezione Ca' del Pipa

Delicious. My last bottle.

Raisins and bittersweet chocolate. Luscious, lightly sweet, cherry cordial palate. Good.

I picked up 3 different "Michele Castellani Recioto della Valpolicella" wines from '95 and '00 form this producer and the 2 I tried have both been outstanding! This is sweet, but not cloyingly so. Also, for a wine with residual sugar and M+ alcohol this comes across light and superbly balanced. We had for dessert with fresh cherries and dark chocolate, but this could work with certain dinners also.

Blueberries, espresso, and dark chocolate on the nose. Moderately sweet, with musky, leathery scents along with cigar, espresso, and bitter chocolate. Overall quite nice, and avoids the boring chocolate-covered blueberry profile with some added depth, dimension, and freshening acid. Yum. Consumed over 5 days, tannin very dry and grainy at fridge temp, better at cellar temp where the bitter-sweetness shines.

Great showing for this wine with a dessert of lemon blueberry tart. However, this could have been served with the meal as well because it was not overly sweet and acidity and flavors were similar to the amarone from the same producer.