Appassimento travels from the Veneto to Argentina
The home of appassimento is the Veneto. Masi has also experimented successfully with partially-dried Refosco grapes at its property in Friuli. But its most original application came when Masi exported the technique much further afield, to the Masi Tupungato Estate in the Mendoza province of Argentina, where production is also certified organic.
Located on a gently sloping plateau at an altitude of around 1000 metres, backed by the snow-capped Andean Cordillera range, the Tupungato vineyards have been planted with Corvina and Pinot Grigio, to blend with the Argentinean Malbec and Torrontés. In their new home, the Corvina grapes achieve a higher concentration of sugars than they do in the Valpolicella, with deeper colour and naturally soft tannins. Because the atmosphere is extremely dry, appassimento for just fifteen to twenty days of Corvina and Malbec grapes in a 70/30 blend produce a wine that is unique for the area: Corbec, a red with an impressive bouquet of extra ripe cherries, a full, fruity body and an almost virile, tannic finish.