Tried and Tested - This Week's Staff Recommendations

Tenuta Musella

Musella - The splendid seventeenth century villa of Tenuta Musella is set within the beautiful, green hills of San Martino Buon Albergo close to Verona in one of the most picturesque vineyard regions in the Veneto. The vineyards cover three different hillside locations on south and west facing slopes which offer a remarkable differentiation of soil types; the Monte del Drago, Perlar and Palazzina hills.

The vineyards are planted with a mixture of indigenous and international varieties including, Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, Barbera, Croatina, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Garganega. The estate produces an excellent white and rosé as well as a range of classic reds including a magnificent Ripasso and Amarone della Valpolicella. 

Wines were first made at Tenuta Musella by Cesare Trezza di Musella in the nineteenth century and the family continues to produce wines using traditional methods with a focus on expressing pure, natural fruit combined with the complexity from great terroir. In line with this philosophy, the estate is currently converting to biodynamic viticulture. The wines are very elegant and full of character, a very considerable step up from most Valpolicella, delivering incredible value for such exceptional quality.

Russell Wallace, General Manager

Valpolicella Superiore – Personally I love a Ripasso but for many the lighter flavours just work best in this basic model.  At £12.32 there is not a massive price difference to trade up to the Ripasso either.

Valpolicella Ripasso – The high cost and low yield of the Amarone essentially gives way to the Valpolicella Ripasso. Ripasso is not really a directly translatable term, but largely means revised or refreshed.  This points towards the use of the grape “must” or skins left over from the Amarone production in this wine.  They are mixed in during the wine-making process to impart a lot of the flavour of an Amarone into this wine.  As there is no drying process there is no loss of juice from which to make wine so the cost is significantly cheaper at £15.96.  It is common to expect the price to be about half and it is a wine I often call the smart man's Amarone.  The flavours if made well can be remarkably similar.  To put it another way, if you are paying the bill pick the Ripasso, if your boss or your friend is, pick the Amarone.

Amarone – This is the big boy, high ABV at 16%.  Amarone is made in a very unique way. Once harvested the grapes are first dried in the sun for several months this dehydrates the grapes and concentrates the flavours, sugars and general goodness!  It also means that there is less juice to extract and make the wine from hence the relatively high price tag of £30.11, which to be honest is quite good value for a quality example!

Dianne Younger, Company Administrator

Tenuta Musella Valpolicella Superiore 2011 - As soon as I opened the bottle loads of berry aromas filled the air. This wine is garnet in colour with a brown rim. Heavier on the palate than I imagined it would be, however after a few sips it becomes less heavy. I picked up lots of spice flavours in this wine along with the berries and oak, though with light tannins it doesn't last as long on the palate as I had thought it would. I would accompany this with a medium rare rump steak - no need for anything fancy with this wine. Score 15/20

Tenuta Musella Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso 2010 - Ruby red in colour this time with brownish-pink rim. Again, lots of berry aromas in this wine. On the palate the berry flavours are more intense and it is not as spicy as the last one - I would say that this one had better structure and a nicer berry flavours - the spice notes did not overpower the fruit as I felt they did in the Valpolicella. Score 17/20

Tenuta Musella Amarone 2008 - What can I say? Yumm! This was full of rich ripe berry aromas. Purple-red in colour with a brown-garnet rim. This wine went down a treat, smooth and rich on the palate - just beautiful. Definitely my favourite of the three I tasted. Again, no need for complicated food with this gorgeous wine - just a simply cooked medium rare steak and I'd be a very happy lady! Score 20/20

Clive Holroyd, Database Manager

Musella Valpolicella Superiore 2011 - This wine was hits the nose first with bright clean red fruit aromas. There is a slightly sweet taste to the wine, reminded me a little of ribena and a very clean finish with no after-taste. I found this a very drinkable uncomplicated red - what I think of as a good quaffing wine. Score 15/20

Musella Valpolicella Ripasso 2010 - Clean and bright red fruit aromas with a slight hit of alcohol suggesting a fuller bodied wine. The taste still has the red fruits but with a little less sweetness and more of a savoury smokiness. This wine has a very pleasant savoury after-taste. A very enjoyable medium bodied red that I would have happily carried on drinking if Russell wasn't so stingy with the tasting samples. Score 17/20

Musella Amarone 2009 - This is a completely different beast to the other two wines; it's a very deep red with tawny hints and prominent aromas of sherry. Very dry and astringent in the mouth with prune and raisin flavours. Reminded me of Madeira. Although not to my personal taste, if you like dry Sherry or Madeira this will appeal to you. Score 16/20