The 2012 vintage for our flagship Bardolino Munus has turned out to be, much as we hoped, one of the most successful years for this flagship cuvée. The vintage (released summer 2014) marks the 20th year since this unique wine was first brought to life by Contessa Maria Cristina Loredan Rizzardi. Munus was originally made in 1992 from the best vineyard plots and the label with it’s distinct reference to the Loredans of Venice was as a tribute to the Contessa’s aunt who at that time had reached 90 years of age. Munus is a latin word meaning gift and the coin embossed on the label’s front was presented by the Doges (Leader/Head of state for Venice) to dignitaries visiting Venice. This particular coin was from a time when one of the Loredan’s held the title of Doge.
In recent years as vines have matured in selected sites Munus has matured with them into a more complete wine. At its core is 70% low yielding Corviona backed up with 20% Merlot which performs very well in several of our vineyards and 10% Rondinella. After one year in large seasoned oak barrels (2500 litres) Munus is rested in bottle then released. We recommend matching it with pork or poultry dishes but more importantly we recommend getting it while you still can as the vintage is disappearing rapidly!
Daniel Stewart