Asolo Montello Rosso della Rocca Merlot DOC vintage 2020

A steep road, with a thousand potholes and several curves, leads to the Colmello winery, Pat del Colmel, just above the wonderful town of Asolo, in the Castelcucco area (Province of Treviso).

The 17 hectares of vineyards of the Agricola Colmello company extend over the hills of the municipalities of Castelcucco, Asolo, Monfumo and Maser in the Asolo Prosecco DOCG Superiore district. The area is protected by the Asolo Prosecco DOCG Superiore and Rosso Asolo Montello DOC brands.

The vineyards open up like an amphitheater dominating the hills of this wonderful corner of the Pedemontana Veneta. Here the particular composition of the soil, the mild climate and the enviable exposure to the sun have always been the best conditions for optimal cultivation of the vine and production of high quality wines.

The harvest is all manual and we try to enter as little as possible among the plants, Pat del Colmel was one of the first companies in the area to obtain the SQNPI certification.

An institution rather than a farm. Gabriella and Lino, with their son Matteo, fifth generation, can therefore be considered living monuments, witnesses of good viticulture not conditioned by fashion, their wines have in their personality the greatest value.

The Asolo area was once rich in vineyards mainly of glera, bianchetta, verdiso, marzemina bianca and the rarer recantina. For the Forner family nicknamed Pat, winemaking began in 1875, with the spouses Pina and Pietro Forner, the love for the land and its fruits has been handed down from generation to generation until today with Gabriella, Lino and their son Matteo.


Currently the father, with the help of his son, runs the company with great passion. In addition to the production of Prosecco Asolo superiore DOCG, the Pat del Colmel winery cultivates native vines carefully preserved over time and rediscovered among the old rows such as: Bianchetta, Rabbiosa, Marzemina bianca and Recantina.

A heritage in danger of extinction brought back to life in a new dedicated space in the new underground cellar, conceived in respect of tradition but innovative in the choice of materials and in its small size. A distinctive feature of Pat del Colmel is that it has always believed in the combination of the enhancement of native vines and modern winemaking techniques that safeguard and enhance their high quality.

Recantina in particular is an old vine still famous at the time of the Serenissima not only for its organoleptic qualities, but also for its long conservation during long transfer journeys on ships.

A wine that the Forner family rediscovered, understood and registered in the National Register of vine varieties and was the first to offer to the market in 2008. Still, with a fruity ruby red color and intense body, which requires long aging (3 to 4 years) in oak barrels, and six months of refinement in the bottle.

A production that is around 10 thousand bottles per year, which are added to the production of other wines of the Colmello Company, from Merlot to Cabernet, from Prosecco to native whites, for a total annual production of around 100,000 bottles.

Furthermore, the Veneto Region has included the “Recantina” in the initiative for the rediscovery of old vines, after having tested the DNA of the vine, cultivated for at least 400 years in the Treviso area, which disappeared at the beginning of the twentieth century and was recovered after a long research work. The rabbiosa refermented in the bottle of another grape unknown to most, a variety practically extinct since the end of 1800. Lino's project to revalue this grape was born when an anti-fraud officer, during a visit to the company, discovered a bottle that bore the name of this grape, which is against the law.
After a check by the employee and without any result of Rabbiosa's presence on the internet, not only did he not issue any report, but he recommended registering the name, which Lino did the following day.

From the field, field and a half of Pat del Colmel, approximately 3000 bottles are produced per year, plus another thousand magnums.

A fascinating wine with an intense yellow color and aromas of dried apricot, baked apple, apple strudel, a light grapefruit. In the mouth it is enveloping, well balanced, mineral and savoury with a good persistence and a light tannin on the finish: a light caramel aftertaste is perceived and the typical acidity of this grape is smoothed out thanks to the correct ripening of the grapes.

Sipping a glass of wine we talk about vineyards, where yields are around 60/80 quintals per hectare and integrated pest management is applied without chemical weed killers or fertilisers.