The patience of a master: new wine and olive oil releases from Quintarelli
This is Flatiron Wines – not Flatiron Oils – and although many of our favorite growers make tasty olive oils as well as wine, we focus almost exclusively on their wines. But for Quintarelli we’re glad to make an exception!
The wines we write about almost every year. Giuseppi Quintarelli was one of the greats of Italian winemaking. He was an incredible steward of Veneto's ancient traditions; his Amarones are as old school as you can get. But he was also a forward thinking iconoclast, whose Cabernet-based Alzero is one of Italy’s greatest and most expensive IGTs.
The wines we have for you today are less expensive than those blockbusters. But if anything, we like them better. They aren’t just more affordable, they are more approachable, with the Valpolicella substance and power balanced by freshness, both aromatically and on the palate. They show their limestone-basalt terroir more transparently. And they merge Quintarelli’s traditional side with the pathbreaking. The entry-level Primofiore (“first flower”), for example, is 50% the traditional Valpolicella grapes and 50% Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc. It is their freshest red, but even here fruit is dried in the traditional method to add richness and complexity.
The first thing you’ll notice looking at these newly released wines though, is that they’re not so new! The Valpo and Ca del Merlo are 2018s! And this gets to the heart of things at Quintarelli: nothing is rushed. From the farming, to the harvesting (they do multiple passes like in Sauternes), to the winemaking, to the aging to the release schedule, they give every step the time and space it needs. These are wines that you can drink on release (though they still benefit from a gentle decant) but that you could age further.
That brings us back to the olive oil, which is exceptional in many ways. Most obviously at first glance is the fact that it’s vintage dated: 2024. Vintage-dated Olive Oil is rare enough, but a new release some 12 months after the harvest is super-rare. That’s because most producers need to hurry their oils out to market as soon as possible, partly for cash flow reasons but also because the oils show best when freshest.
But Quintarelli takes the same patient approach with their oil as they do with their wines. They only pressed the olives after letting them rest – in January 2025, in fact. And this is why we make an exception and offer Quintarelli’s oil: it is truly of a piece with their wines. From the old trees growing in the same soils as their vines, to the magical blend of five olive varieties, to the patient and exacting process, the oil is a perfect companion to the wines: deep, but also full of beautiful freshness, and complex but also seamless.
We’re thrilled to be able to share both the wine and the oils with you. Please click through to grab your bottles now.
Giuseppe Quintarelli Olive Oil (750ml) - $74.99 $62.99
Giuseppe Quintarelli Olive Oil (500ml) -$59.99 $45.99
Made from Casaliva, Frantoio, Leccino, Favarol, and Grignano olives growing in the limestone-basalt soils around the winery and vineyards, this may be our favorite olive oil in the world.
Giuseppe Quintarelli Olive Oil (500ml) -
Made from Casaliva, Frantoio, Leccino, Favarol, and Grignano olives growing in the limestone-basalt soils around the winery and vineyards, this may be our favorite olive oil in the world.
Giuseppe Quintarelli Bianco Secco Ca del Merlo 2024 - $66.99 $59.99
A blend of Garganega, Trebbiano Toscano, Sauvignon Bianco, Chardonnay and Saorin, is as complex as that long list would suggest: bright citrus fruit, stone fruit, floral notes, limestone depth and airy pleasures all dance somehow harmonious.
A blend of Garganega, Trebbiano Toscano, Sauvignon Bianco, Chardonnay and Saorin, is as complex as that long list would suggest: bright citrus fruit, stone fruit, floral notes, limestone depth and airy pleasures all dance somehow harmonious.
Giuseppe Quintarelli Veneto Primofiore 2023 - $88.99 $79.99
The first-released of the reds is a favorite of ours and of Vinous’s Eric Guido: “The 2023 Primofiore is more savory than sweet, opening with dusty rose tones, a beguiling whiff of tangerine, wild strawberries and stone dust. It is round and energetic in style, perfumed with violet and lavender tones as ripe blackberry fruits swirl throughout. The finish is classically dry and long, yet remarkably fresh, leaving a subtle tannic crunch and a hint of wild blueberry to linger.”
The first-released of the reds is a favorite of ours and of Vinous’s Eric Guido: “The 2023 Primofiore is more savory than sweet, opening with dusty rose tones, a beguiling whiff of tangerine, wild strawberries and stone dust. It is round and energetic in style, perfumed with violet and lavender tones as ripe blackberry fruits swirl throughout. The finish is classically dry and long, yet remarkably fresh, leaving a subtle tannic crunch and a hint of wild blueberry to linger.”
Giuseppe Quintarelli Valpolicella Classico Superiore 2018 - $139.99 $126.99
Of course, he likes the Valpo even more: “The 2018 Valpolicella Classico Superiore pulls the taster close to the glass with a darkly alluring blend of dried roses, violets, crushed stone, clove and blood orange. It washes across the palate with silken textures, lifted and finessed in the style of the vintage, as ripe wildberry fruits swirl beneath an air of sweet lavender. The word ethereal comes to mind as the 2018 tapers off with sweet tannins that provide a lovely framework to perfumed inner florals and hints of blackberry that resonate.”
Of course, he likes the Valpo even more: “The 2018 Valpolicella Classico Superiore pulls the taster close to the glass with a darkly alluring blend of dried roses, violets, crushed stone, clove and blood orange. It washes across the palate with silken textures, lifted and finessed in the style of the vintage, as ripe wildberry fruits swirl beneath an air of sweet lavender. The word ethereal comes to mind as the 2018 tapers off with sweet tannins that provide a lovely framework to perfumed inner florals and hints of blackberry that resonate.”
Giuseppe Quintarelli Rosso Ca del Merlo 2018 - $139.99 $126.99
Of all Quintarelli’s beautiful wines, this is the Flatiron Favorite. But note: it is “Merlo,” not “Merlot” – “Ca del Merlo” being the “vineyard of the blackbird.” It’s another complex blend of 55% Corvina and Corvinone, 15% Rondinella, 10% Cabernet, 15% Merlot (yes, there is a little Merlot), 5% Nebbiolo, Croatina, Sangiovese, made in the Valpolicella ripasso style (with a second fermentation of the wine on the vintages once-used Amarone grapes). But it is, also a beautiful wine of terroir, with the greatest limestone personality and the subtlest aromatics emerging over time in the glass.
Of all Quintarelli’s beautiful wines, this is the Flatiron Favorite. But note: it is “Merlo,” not “Merlot” – “Ca del Merlo” being the “vineyard of the blackbird.” It’s another complex blend of 55% Corvina and Corvinone, 15% Rondinella, 10% Cabernet, 15% Merlot (yes, there is a little Merlot), 5% Nebbiolo, Croatina, Sangiovese, made in the Valpolicella ripasso style (with a second fermentation of the wine on the vintages once-used Amarone grapes). But it is, also a beautiful wine of terroir, with the greatest limestone personality and the subtlest aromatics emerging over time in the glass.
It also appears to be Eric Guido’s favorite (he gave it 95 points, compared to the 94 for the Valpo and 93 for the Primofiore): “The 2018 Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ca' del Merlo wafts up with an incredibly pretty, savory bouquet of dried Mediterranean herbs, geranium and citrus-tinged wild strawberries. It displays depths of ripe red and blue fruits underscored by crisp mineral tones as rosy inner florals arch across the palate, all over a core of tantalizing acidity. The finish is floral and long, leaving a tart sensation of raspberry as hints of lavender fade slowly. This is a supremely elegant and refined vintage for Ca' del Merlo.”
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