Event Venue | Glengarry Thorndon, 53 Hutt Rd, Thorndon |
Event Date | 6:00pm Wednesday 24 October |
It was a cool windy day in Wellington when the little ray of Italian sunshine, otherwise known as Cecilia Pasqua, blew into town. It was indeed an honour to host Cecilia here in Hutt Road, we have long been a fan of Pasqua wines and after hearing more of their story it has solidified what we had already thought that they are a family dedicated to making extraordinarily great wines. From start to finish with the line-up that we tasted there was not a bad wine among them. Founded in 1925 in Verona, Pasqua Vigneti e Cantine was born from a family’s love for Valpolicella. Cecilia is now one of the third generation of family to enter the business, alongside Riccardo, Alessandro and Giovanni. With the next generation taking hold it has enabled Pasqua to reach even further towards foreign markets and they now operate in 50 markets around the world. Even though they are operating in large volumes, quality is in no way compromised. We started with a Prosecco from a range that is produced with the Romeo and Juliet wall on the label, clean and fresh with a dry finish, it was a perfect way to start. The 11 minutes Rose was next, this wine is a blend of Corvina, Trebbiano, Syrah and Carmenere, this was dry with a wonderful purity. We then went through and tasted the Passimento, the Ripasso (a personal favourite) and then moved on to the Amarone. We did the Black Label and the Villa Borghetti, grown on different sites, they were both outstanding. The last two wines were the Mai Dire Mai Valpolicella Superiore 2012 and the Mai Dire Mai Amarone, these were the crowing glory of the whole tasting, they are classic by origin and place but they are innovative in wine making. The Valpolicella is a blend of Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella and Oseleta, it was a harmonious blend of fruit and spice and as it sat in the glass revealed itself more and more. The final Amarone had great concentration, structure and elegance, this was a wine built for the long haul-outstanding.