Bottle shot of Quintarelli Rosso ca' del Merlo, produced by Giuseppe Quintarelli, buy classic and natural wine online on Primal Wine, the best wine shop in the United States – primalwine.com

Quintarelli Rosso Ca' del Merlo 2018

$150.00

Style: Full-bodied dry red with substantial structure, elevated alcohol, and notable complexity from combined appassimento and ripasso techniques; 15% ABV; accessible now with considerable aging potential
Grapes & Terroir: Approximately 55% Corvina and Corvinone, 30% Rondinella, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, plus Cabernet Franc, Nebbiolo, Croatina, and Sangiovese; single vineyard, Ca' del Merlo, in Negrar on iron-rich limestone soils over basaltic bedrock at around 500 meters elevation
Winemaking: 50% of grapes pressed fresh at harvest; 50% dried for two months (appassimento); ripasso-style secondary fermentation on Amarone lees; seven years aging in large Slavonian oak casks before release; organic farming; native yeast fermentation
Serving Temperature & Decanting: Serve at 64–66°F; decant at least 1 hour before serving, ideally 2 hours; the wine opens slowly and benefits considerably from time in the glass
Pairing: Bigoli al sugo d'anatra (Venetian pasta with duck ragù)
Similar To: The combination of appassimento, ripasso, and extended oak aging places this wine in the same sensory neighborhood as Amarone della Valpolicella, though with a lighter framework

Classic

Tasting notes

Deep ruby with garnet hues, consistent with extended oak aging. The nose shows dried cherry, red plum, Mediterranean herbs, dried rose, and a tobacco note. On the palate, the structure is broad and layered, with integrated tannins, balanced acidity, and a long finish of spice and dark fruit.

Food pairings

Bigoli al sugo d'anatra, braised beef, ossobuco, wild boar ragù, polenta with spezzatino, risotto all'Amarone, roasted game, aged Grana Padano, Korean galbi short ribs.

Product description

Quintarelli Rosso Ca' del Merlo 2018 is a Veneto IGT red wine produced by Giuseppe Quintarelli from a single vineyard in the hills of Negrar, Valpolicella Classico. The blend is approximately 55% Corvina and Corvinone, 30% Rondinella, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, with small additions of Cabernet Franc, Nebbiolo, Croatina, and Sangiovese. Half the grapes are pressed immediately after harvest; the other half dry for two months via appassimento. The wine then undergoes a ripasso-style second fermentation on Amarone lees before spending seven years in large Slavonian oak botti. Quintarelli Rosso Ca' del Merlo 2018 is bottled at 15% ABV from iron-rich limestone soils over a base of basaltic rock at approximately 500 meters above sea level.

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Red
Wine Style:, Full Body
Grapes:, Corvina, Rondinella, Molinara
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2018
Alcohol:, 15%
Country:, Italy
Region:, Veneto
Appellation:, Veneto IGT
Bottle Size:, 750ml
Sugar Level:, Low Sugar, Zero Added Sugar

These information are correct to the best of our knowledge. We talk to natural wine producers, importers, and distributors on a regular basis; should you notice discrepancies, please let us know and we will fix them right away.

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Quintarelli Rosso Ca' del Merlo 2018

$150.00

Producer profile

Giuseppe Quintarelli

The Giuseppe Quintarelli estate is located in the village of Cerè, within the municipality of Negrar, in the heart of Valpolicella Classico. The winery's foundation dates to 1924, when Silvio Quintarelli, who had previously farmed vines under sharecropping arrangements in Marano di Valpolicella, established his own estate after the First World War. Silvio's son Giuseppe, born in 1927 and known throughout Valpolicella simply as Bepi, took over operations in the early 1950s and ran the estate for six decades. He passed away in January 2012, at the age of 84. The estate today is led by his daughter Fiorenza and her husband Giampaolo, together with their sons Francesco and Lorenzo, who maintain the methods Giuseppe developed over his working life.

The estate covers approximately 12 hectares on the eastern slopes of the Negrar valley at around 500 meters elevation. Vines are trained in the traditional Veronese pergola system. Grapes planted include Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, Croatina, Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Garganega, Trebbiano Toscano, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay. Total annual production is around 60,000 bottles, a small figure across a portfolio that includes Valpolicella Classico Superiore, Amarone, Recioto, the single-vineyard Ca' del Merlo range, Alzero, Primofiore, and Rosso del Bepi (the declassified Amarone). Every wine in the range is aged for a minimum of several years in large Slavonian oak casks; the Amarone typically sees seven years, the Riserva up to ten.

The estate has no website and no formal marketing operation. The wines are allocated through a small network of importers worldwide.

On Primal Wine, the Quintarelli range includes the Quintarelli Rosso Ca' del Merlo 2017, the Quintarelli Rosso del Bepi 2016, the Quintarelli Valpolicella Classico Superiore, and the Quintarelli Bianco Secco Ca' del Merlo 2024. Browse these alongside other benchmark bottles in our best-sellers collection.

Wine region

Veneto, Italy

Valpolicella is located in the western portion of the Veneto, the hills immediately north and northwest of Verona. The zone stretches from the Adige River in the south to the foothills of the Lessini Mountains, covering a band of hillside vineyards between roughly 120 and 500 meters above sea level. It divides into three main valleys, Fumane, Marano, and Negrar, which together form the Valpolicella Classico zone, the historical core of the appellation. The Classico zone is separated from the broader Valpolicella DOC area, which extends further east toward Verona.

The geology of Valpolicella is defined by a contrast between limestone and marl-dominant soils in the northern and western areas, which tend to produce wines with higher acidity and finer tannin structure, and more basaltic, volcanic soils in the eastern portions of the zone, which typically yield darker fruit profiles and broader mid-palates. The Negrar valley, where Giuseppe Quintarelli's estate is located at around 500 meters elevation, sits on iron-rich limestone over basaltic bedrock, a combination that contributes both mineral tension and textural weight to the wines.

The appellation is defined by its use of Corvina Veronese and Corvinone as the dominant blending grapes, supported by Rondinella, with producers permitted to incorporate other local and international varieties. The wines range from fresh Valpolicella DOC at the lighter end to Valpolicella Ripasso DOC, made by passing the wine over Amarone lees to trigger a secondary fermentation, and at the top end, Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG, produced by allowing appassimento-dried grapes to ferment to complete dryness. Valpolicella Classico Superiore, the designation Quintarelli uses for his DOC-classified wines, requires a minimum 12 months of aging and at least 12% alcohol.

Discover our full Italian natural wine collection and our curated full-body red wine selection on Primal Wine.

Frequently asked question

When is my order shipping?

We are doing your best to ship your order in 2-3 business days.

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.

Do I have to sign upon delivery?

Yes, someone 21 years or older must sign for the package.

Signature on delivery is mandatory for wine deliveries. Please make sure someone is at the shipping address to sign for the package.

If applicable, please consider delivering the package to a business address to ensure someone is available to sign for the package.

We also have the option of delivering the package to a Carrier's store for pickup. Please reach out to us to coordinate.

Carrier will try to delivery a package up to three times before returning the package to us.

See here our shipping policy.

What if I miss a delivery?

Worry not, we have options, but please read carefully.

If you miss a delivery and a package gets returned to us we have two options:

1) Reship the package right away: due to the very high cost of shipping and returns, we must charge a re-shipping fee to be determined based on package size and shipping destination.

2) Consolidate the returned package with your next order: this option is free of charge and it's the most popular option.

See here our shipping policy.

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