Paolo Cottini Elio 2016

Cellar for up to 8 years. No need to decant before serving.

Paolo Cottini’s family have been involved in winemaking for generations, and it was Paolo’s father, Silvano, who first introduced his son to the art of making delicious wines from their Valpolicella homeland. Paolo now has his own winery which he runs along with his wife Sara in the charming hilltop village of Castelrotto. The estate’s 7 hectares of vineyards are located in the Negrar Valley at an altitude of 580 metres and in Valgatara at 250 metres of altitude.

Paolo insists on harvesting all of his grapes by hand to ensure excellent quality and primarily works with the indigenous local grape varieties Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella. Unlike Paolo’s more traditional offerings, his Elio red is composed of Merlot and Corvina and is labelled as IGT Rosso Veronese. Before vinification Paolo dries out the grapes to concentrate the sugars and flavours, a typical technique which has been used for generations to make Valpolicella wines.

The powerful flavour profile is sure to be a winner with lovers of big reds thanks to the intense cassis, black cherry and jammy plum notes. The first sip reveals a generous full body, bold dark berry flavours and firm tannins which will help this wine age gracefully over the next five years or so.