Cavaliere del Garda’s Valtènesi Chiaretto is produced in a certain hilly area on the Brescia side of Lake Garda, called Valtènesi. Chiaretto is obtained by soft pressing the grapes, allowing a brief, delicate moment of contact between the must and the skins, no longer than a few hours. This is, therefore, what we call a “one night wine”, meaning that the maceration time never exceeds 12 hours, though, in actual fact, it is generally much shorter.
This type of wine almost always has a light pink colour, often called “rose petal”, because the Groppello grape rarely manages to impart more decisive colours to the must. If the vine is cultivated with the right attention and the precise intention of producing grapes for Chiaretto, by carefully choosing the right moment for ripening and harvesting, the wine is predisposed to express strong floral and fruity aromas, with notes of wild strawberry and raspberry, and hints of citrus, orange, mandarin, and pink grapefruit.
All this is accompanied be an always very lively, crisp acidity, which lends the wine freshness and drinkability.
One of the most typical tasting qualities of Valtènesi Chiaretto is its marked sapidity, originating from both the Groppello grape and the morainic soil typical of this area.
A substantial, if not almost total, quota of Groppello used in the final blend only accentuates of these peculiar characteristics, which significantly differentiate Valtènesi Chiaretto from other rosé wines made in Italy.
Tasting notes
- Grapes: Groppello, Marzemino, Sangiovese, and Barbera
- Colour: powder pink, claret (chiaretto) pink
- Valtènesi Chiaretto DOC’s nose is intense, floral and fruity. On the palate it is refined, fresh, soft, balanced and offers a good sapidity.
Chiaretto at the table
Our Valtènesi Chiaretto is an intense, fine wine, with good structure and complexity, ideal with fish dishes and white meats.
In 2021, Cavaliere del Garda was awarded the Chiaretto della Valtènesi Harvest 2020 Certificate of Excellence.
