This is the last, and best, of a few wines I bought on a recent trip to Lombardy. Although Lombardy has plenty of its own wines, it also seems to be flooded with bottles from neighbouring Veneto.
Scaia Rossa is a Veneto IGT wine from Tenuta Sant’Antonio, whose vineyards lie between Soave and Valpolicella. The name “Scaia” is a Venetian dialect word meaning a flake of stone, chalk or limestone. The Scaia project was launched in 2006, with the aim of creating wines in a modern style, outside the restrictions of the denomination system. It cannot be labelled Valpolicella DOC because it is pure Corvina, without the required Rondinella component.
This 2023 vintage is fermented and aged in stainless steel, with the emphasis on purity and freshness rather than weight or oak. It comes in an elegant bottle with Scaia embossed into the glass and a glass stopper, which gives it a surprisingly premium feel for the price. Alcohol is 13%.
In the glass, it is lighter in colour than I expected, bright and attractive. At first, I was disappointed by how little aroma or flavour there seemed to be, but after just ten minutes it opened up beautifully. Lively floral notes appeared, followed by ripe red fruit and a touch of chocolate. When tasted, it has cherry fruit, a slightly earthy edge and a faint savoury character. The tannins are low to medium, the body is medium and the whole thing feels very balanced. It is extremely easy to drink. After twenty minutes, it intensifies even further, becoming something like an excellent fruity Pinot Noir crossed with a lighter, more floral and aromatic Valpolicella.
It went excellently with truffle pasta, where its freshness, savoury character and red fruit work particularly well against the richness of the dish. UK availability appears to be sold out, but in Europe it is typically around €11.40. I bought this one for €9.39 in the Italian supermarket Migross, which feels like excellent value. My only regret is that I did not buy more as I haven’t been able to find it in the UK.
