2003 Tommaso Bussola Recioto della Valpolicella Classico B.G, 500ml

Bussola is a 37-acre estate in the Veneto. It was founded and is still owned and operated by Tommaso Bussola, who started working on his uncle’s small family wine estate in 1977. By 1983 Bussola was making his own wines and in 1992 he built a new winery. The estate makes Valpolicella and Amarone. Gambero Rosso has often awarded its highest rating of 3 glasses to the estate’s Recioto della Valpolicella. Tommaso Bussola added his first name to his wines in the 1990s, after completing a makeover of his estate.

Veneto in northeastern Italy is one of the country’s most important wine regions and has 220,000 acres of vineyards. It is the third largest wine producing region in Italy after Sicily and Puglia. Though Veneto produces more red than white wine, it is most famous for its Soave and Prosecco, both white wines. Venice is the best-known city in the region, but the area’s wine-making capital is Verona. Close to Verona are the appellations for Bardolino, Valpolicella and Soave. The Veneto is also home to Amarone, the densely concentrated, seriously alcoholic, big red wines made by using grapes that are partially or fully dried. The results are lush, sometimes nearly syrupy red wines that approach 20% alcohol, even though most are not sweet. The most famous conventional red wine is Valpolicella, which means “valley of many cellars.” The name is perhaps a reference to the fact that Veneto is home to a number of indigenous grapes not found elsewhere, including the deep red grapes Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara, all used to make Valpolicella. Garganega is the indigenous white grape used for Soave.