Deep and dark Amarone Classico Riserva, which nevertheless offers incredible fresh notes of frutti di bosco. From the foothills of the Prealps in the north of La Valle di Negrar

This Amarone Classico Riserva is born in the north of the Negrar valley, on the very foothills of the Lessini Mountains. The vineyard is planted at 350 metres above sea level and looks south across the village of Palazzo Bertoldi.

Here, in the north-eastern corner of Valpolicella’s most prestigious Classico area, the vines are cooled by breezes from the Prealps. This cooler and drier microclimate is very different to what you find in the southern parts of Valpolicella close to Verona.

Grapes naturally retain higher acidity, ultimately producing more fresh and aromatic wines. This is why’ve spent the last few years hunting for a great Amarone from the foothills of the Prealps. We’re glad to be the first company in the UK to introduce this fabulous wine.

Winemaking

The winemaker, Fabio Zenato, has designed a more powerful blend dominated by Corvinone (45% Corvinone, 30% Corvina, 20% Rondinella, 5% Oseleta). Corvinone has thicker skin, and produces more tannic, deeper-coloured wine (read our guide about the Valpolicella blends). This grape is perfect for appassimento, and the resulting wine has more concentrated aromas. He avoids Molinara, with its juicy red berry flavour, as this would steer towards a totally different style.

Grapes for this Amarone Riserva are hand-harvested at the end of September. They are air-dried (appassimento) for four months, when water evaporates and flavours become very intense. The half-dried grapes are crushed and fermented at 24-26° in stainless steel tanks. For the first three weeks, the wine is fermented on the skins, absorbing richer flavours and developing a darker colour.

For the next three years the wine matures in wood. 50% of it ages in small (120 litre) French oak barriques, acquiring deep, dark and spicy notes. The other 50% matures in large Slavonian oak casks, helping the wine express the grape’s natural flavour. We tasted this wine in 2023: effectively it matured for seven years, developing a very rich and complex profile.

Tasting notes

This Amarone Riserva offers freshness (thanks to the vineyard’s higher elevation), richness and depth (as the blend is dominated by the dark and tannic Corvinone). In the glass, it opens up with attractive notes of fresh raspberry and wild forest berries – frutti di bosco. It leads towards deep, warm flavours of blackberry preserve and sweet tobacco, with a smoky and spicy finish of black pepper, pine sap and juniper berry.

Awards

James Suckling – 91 points (2015 vintage) | Jancis Robinson 16.5 points (2015 vintage) | Wine Without Walls 2023 – 90 points (2015 vintage)