Friday read: Lago di Garda, Gropello Gentile and Italy’s most memorable rosato

By Justin Keay

Published: 01 November, 2024

Italy’s wine reputation has never been higher. Many of its reds from Tuscany and Piedmont are well established icons, its whites get better each year, whilst sparkling wines are also on the up with Franciacorta, Alta Langa and Oltrepo Pavese increasingly appealing to higher end consumers tired of Prosecco.

But pink wine, rosato? Frankly something of an also ran, aside from established DOCs like Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo, Chiaretto di Bardolino – which started a rose revolution 10 years ago to boost quality and recognition – and parts of Tuscany’s Maremma region, which are now taking the category more seriously.

“Italians just see rosato as something fun, not a serious wine and certainly not a food wine. But that’s not our view,” says Nicole Vezzola (pictured).

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Indeed, in 1928 her family winery Costaripa will celebrate its centenary, making quality wines in Valtenesi, on the western shores of Lake Garda, in Lombardy. The focus here is very much on tradition, something Vezzola says the family is not prepared to sacrifice for increased sales, in a market that is anyway always changing, although with around 480,000 bottles of 13 wines produced in a typical year (including some reds) sales are more than respectable.

“Our identity is who we are and if you throw that away, what are you? I’d like to think that our grandmother would enjoy the wines today just as much as she did when she was alive.”

A lot has changed, of course, much of it due to her father Mattia Vezzola, 71, who has been owner/winemaker here for decades, running the business alongside his day job as chief winemaker at Bellavista in Franciacorta where he put expertise picked up in Champagne to serious use, turning that winery into the biggest and best known in the region. He stepped back from Bellavista a few years ago – having been named Best Italian Winemaker by various leading sommelier associations – to focus on Costaripa, introducing bio-dynamic principles and reinforcing the stress on quality.

Nicole Vezzola remembers: “My parents would be astonished that we sometimes have to throw away 50% of the grapes, but they would appreciate somehow the beauty of it especially as the result is consistent high-quality wines.”

Harvests have been complicated in recent years by dramatic weather events. Valtenesi may be famous for its microclimate but last year saw almost 50% of usual production because of huge hailstones and this year although things are better, the team has had to work through some seriously heavy rain.

“Our clay and gravel soil means we have to be very careful how we manage pretty much everything,” she says.

So how are the wines?

We started with the Mattia Vezzola Rose NV, a crowd-pleasing sparkler made in the classic method. The producer celebrated 50 years of making sparkling wine last year and this is a lovely example made from Chardonnay, with some Pinot Nero. Nice viscosity, strawberry on the pallet and a surprisingly long finish.

Things moved forward with our tasting of the still wines, the first, RosaMara 2023, solid and moreish, made from the unusual blend of local variety Gropello Gentile – some 60% – Marzemino, a variety more associated with Trento, Sangiovese (Tuscany) and Barbera (Piedmont). Made from grapes grown on 25-year-old vines, the first vintage of this was 40 years ago and it has become Costaripa’s main calling card. And a very delicious one too, winning Gold at the Decanter World Wine Awards and helping Costaripa get a special mention for Sustainable Innovation at Vinitalty.

Before the next wine, the Molmenti 2016, was served, my neighbour was having trouble containing his excitement, telling me he hadn’t been able to forget it since a first taste at Vinitalty earlier this year.

“It’s the most memorable rosato I’ve ever tasted,” he said.

I wouldn’t argue. Made biodynamically, in tiny volumes from the same varieties as the RosaMara, light copper in colour and quite saline, this is quite sumptuous reflecting two years of barrel aging and now, six years in bottle. Little wonder the 2015 vintage won the prestigious Gambero Rosso award for Best Italian Rose Wine in 2019, the first year of the category’s existence. The Molmenti 2016 may already be eight years old but Nicole Vezzola reckons it could continue to evolve for at least another 12.

“Time gives value, but with rosato that time is often not given” she says.

It’s certainly wonderfully complex and nuanced, with spice, pepper and violet on the palate, showing remarkable evolution and great expressive character.

“I always say Molmenti is like a book, you need to go through from start to finish at the same time appreciating what lies in the middle,” she says.

Named after Senator Pompeo Gherado Molmenti, who created the first Italian rose from dedicated viticulture back in 1896, this is a riposte to those who argue that serious pink wine simply does not exist. It is also a great vindication to the decision back in 1984 to plant a vineyard with Gropello Gentile, a rare variety believed to be one of Italy’s oldest.

When the great Italian rosato revolution gets underway – if it hasn’t already, given the changes taking place on the other side of Lake Garda, in Bardolino – expect Costaripa to be one of its leading lights.

Costaripa wines are imported by Alivini.

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