2022 Maculan, Brentino Rosso, Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon, Breganze DOC, Veneto, Italy.
The dark garnet and ruby edged Maculan Brentino Breganze DOC Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon is a delicious Bordeaux blend from the Veneto, and a long time value favorite, with ripe berry, plum, currant and black cherry fruits on the medium/full palate, along with a kiss of sweet oak, smooth tannin, a touch of lilac, anise, cigar wrapper and delicate spice notes. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc have long been part of the make it in the Veneto and Maculan has mastered especially Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, with this blend being a tasty way to explore these Bordeaux varietals here in this part of Italy. This wine, coming from a complex terroir with cool air flowing through the vines from the alpine heights above and long warm summer days that leads to ripe and rich layering in the wines. As in other parts of Veneto, the soils are predominantly volcanic here, adding depth, spice and mineral detail to the wines, as subtly displayed here to nice effect. I must also note, Maculan also has a top end bottling called Fratta, made from Cab and Merlot as well, but much more serious and powerful, it can in certain vintages rival top Bordeaux Châteaux and the more famous Bolgheri (Super Tuscan) wines! I have been a long time fan of wines here at Maculan and this Brentino is a very consistent pleasure and great with a meal and or hard cheeses.
Cantina Maculan, a small third generation family winery, was founded in 1947 in Breganze, a small town in the Province of Vicenza, at the foothills of the famous Dolomites in the Northwest of the Veneto region, is widely known for its luscious golden hued Torcolato Vespaiola Passito sweet wine, but the reds are serious here too. Maculan makes wines from both native and “international” varieties, which have been introduced by the French and the Austrians in 1800, with long time plantings of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon being part of the winemaking traditions here. Fausto Maculan, who took over in the 1970s and made Maculan a benchmark producer in Italy, especially during the late 1990s and early 2000s, has now passed the baton to his daughters, with Angela and Maria Vittoria Maculan continuing his legacy of world class wines. This Brentino Bordeaux-inspired blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, typically 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Sauvignon sees hand harvested grapes from all estate vineyards, 100% de-stemmed and fermented in temp-controlled stain-less steel with regular punch-downs. After which the wine is aged 12 months, with each varietal matured separately, with 50% in stainless steel tank and 50% in small French barriques. The wine is then blended and aged in bottle for several months before its release. I highly recommend Maculan, which still remains under the radar, with their entry level wines, both white and red being exceptional values that are really worth looking for.
($20 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive