Due to all of the current international shipping situations, many shops received their Beaujolais Nouveau this week–nearly a month after Third Thursday. I haven’t had a 2021 yet, and decided to open another bottle of my REPLACEMENT wine: Bardolino Novello. This is–of course–Corvina, and not Gamay or even Pinot: as is a frequent New World derivative. My last Novello was my first ever (I didn’t even know this wine existed), and provided a wine FAR more drinkable out-of-the-gate than any previous outings with fresh bojo novo. Structured and balanced, feeling more like *real wine* than typical nouveau, it was a welcome replacement for this year’s ‘November void’. This bottle is a bit different though.

Bright, light pink-purple, showing ruby only at its deepest regions. Crazy bubblegum fruit laced with a sort of brilliant fresh floral headed into pre-teen perfume. THINK: Bonnie Bell cherry lip gloss. THINK: Jolly Rancher watermelon and strawberry. THINK: SweetTarts dip-n-stix. THINK: Kool-Aid spiked with Aperol and maybe a touch of grenadine. It’s a cheery, chubby nose, cloyingly sweet but in no way offensive.

Tasting it provides a step back from predictions of *sweet red wine*. Thin and watery, it takes a far more serious turn in the mouth, as acid and carbonic polish cloak the light berry with aplomb. Delicate cherry Jello works along rose-hip and smoky acerola in a savory-sharp, vegetal-bitter core both refreshing and stimulating. It dries out nicely in the finish–welcomely bereft of tannin–but the over-lay of cherry instant powder continues on.

I really can find no fault in this wine… it is what it is and provides gobs of enjoyment for WHAT IT IS, checking a multitude of “interesting” boxes: educational and enlightening in playful, not-so-serious ways. I still think it provides a far more-drinkable wine at 3-months-old, and I wish I had a few bottles to chill with next summer. This is cafe wine; sandwich & salad wine; fried seafood and sunglasses wine. I’ve analyzed its simple beauty WAY too hard.

2021 RAVAL Corvina Novello Classico Bardolino Veneto Italy 12.5

http://www.agriturismoraval.it/
https://consorziobardolino.it/