2023 Le Fraghe, Bardolino Rosso, Veneto

The Bardolino growing area is between the base of Lake Garda and the hills where Valpolicella is grown, not far from Verona in North-East Italy. Matilde Poggi's winery is outside of the town of Affi. Her Bardolino contains more Corvina than normal, 80%, the remaining 20% being Rondinella (both varieties are indigenous). Matilde answers the question, "What is wine for?" "I think most wine exists to make food taste good; we've sort of forgotten this in the last few years, with the blockbuster era of dark, concentrated, 'collectible' red wines." Bardolino is the opposite, a wine for drinking with food, and Matilde Poggi at Le Fraghe makes a very good one.

Silky texture, juicy bramble red cherry and blueberry with nuanced cinnamon and black pepper. Lovely balance between a judicious acidity and full, savory flavours, characteristic of wines of this area.