Giusti 2015 Recantina 'Augusto' 750ml

Asolo Montello DOC, Veneto

Recantina is an indigenous Montello variety prized by Venetian nobility in the late 1800s before mysteriously vanishing from the region, recovered only in recent decades; Giusti's flagship bottling is named in tribute to the proprietor's father, Augusto. Grown on the Montello's characteristic iron-rich clay, Guyot-trained at 5,000 vines per hectare and picked in the first ten days of October, the fruit is destemmed, gently crushed and fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel with roughly fifteen days on skins, with malolactic occurring spontaneously before twelve to fourteen months in large Slavonian oak casks. The 2015 vintage — warm, dry and generous across the Veneto — has aged gracefully into its second decade. Deep ruby now edging toward garnet at the rim, still bright and remarkably transparent for its depth of colour. The nose has traded primary exuberance for savoury complexity: dried red plum, cassis and macerated cherry underpinned by violet and cyclamen, opening with air into leather, damp forest floor, dried porcini, sweet tobacco and a distinct ferrous, freshly turned-earth minerality. The palate is medium-plus in body and notably velvety, the tannins fully resolved and gently sweet in profile, with a bright acid seam — the variety's signature — keeping the mature fruit lively and the finish clean rather than heavy. Long, earthy and faintly balsamic on the close. Decant thirty minutes and serve at 16–18°C in a broad bowl. A natural fit for braised and roasted red meats, furred game, duck breast, roast guinea fowl, mushroom risotto, or medium-aged alpine cheeses. Drinking beautifully now; there's no rush, but no need to wait either.