Bardolino D.O.C. Classico

Founded around 1960 by Gino Zenato, Le Morette built its reputation on Lugana's chalky clay — but the family's ~6 hectares in Lazise, Bardolino Classico DOC, represent a deliberate stylistic statement: a red wine stripped of weight by design, not circumstance. The Lazise parcels sit on glacial-moraine soils of compact, marly clay, the same mineral-dense substrate that defines the estate's whites, producing reds with taut structure and low phenolic mass rather than the extracted fruit profile of neighboring Valpolicella.

The blend is 55% Corvina, 35% Rondinella, 10% Molinara — Corvina providing the cherry-skin backbone, Molinara contributing its characteristic high-acid, low-tannin lift. Vinification follows a reductive, freshness-first logic: stainless steel throughout, no wood contact, temperature-controlled fermentation, preserving the site's cool-climate aromatic register. Vines are trained to cordon at 3,800 plants per hectare, a density that moderates vigor on these mineral-rich soils.

What sets this apart within Bardolino Classico is the estate's explicit positioning of the wine as a structural counterpoint to Valpolicella — lower alcohol, lower tannin extraction, higher acid tension — a producer philosophy, not a DOC accident. Drink now through 3–4 years for maximum aromatic vibrancy.