Cellar candidate in Veneto

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Bertani's Amarone is the reference for the traditional, extremely long-aged style: minimum eight years in large Slavonian oak produces a garrigue-herb and leather-inflected wine of remarkable freshness and longevity, lighter in colour than modern Amarone but strikingly complex.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Bertani's Villa Novare is the prestige Amarone from their historic Novare estate, given six years in Slavonian oak producing a wine of extraordinary complexity and longevity; perhaps the most authentically traditional Amarone Riserva-style bottling in the appellation.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Bold · Contemplative

Campagnola's Amarone della Valpolicella Classico is produced from appassimento-dried Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella grapes from the Classico hills. Two to three years in large Slavonian oak develop the characteristic dried fruit, dark chocolate and tobacco complexity of the DOCG's flagship wine.

Dry · Full-bodied · High tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Bold

Guerrieri Rizzardi's Amarone expresses the Classico zone from an estate with over 350 years of Valpolicella history. The extended appassimento (drying) of Corvina and Corvinone grapes concentrates flavour into a wine of great intensity. Three years in Slavonian botti soften the tannins while preserving the dried-fruit character.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Contemplative

Bradisismo (Italian for seismic land subsidence) is Inama's prestige selection from the oldest basalt-grown Garganega vines, aged 18-24 months in French barriques; arguably the most complex Soave available, with extraordinary tension between rich oak ageing and the grape's saline mineral core.

Dry · Medium-bodied · High tannin · High acidity · Rustic · Bold

Raboso Piave is a long-documented native red grape of the Piave river plains in Treviso province (records from the 16th century). Italo Cescon has championed its rehabilitation since the 1960s. High tannin and acid give the wine austerity in youth but long age-worthiness.

Dessert · Full-bodied · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

One of Italy's greatest botrytised dessert wines. Acininobili (noble berries) is produced from 100% botrytis-affected Vespaiola grapes, selected berry by berry in the best vintages. The Sauternes influence is explicit: Maculan was inspired by a trip to Bordeaux in the late 1970s and applied the Trockenbeerenauslese selection principle to Vespaiola.

Dry · Full-bodied · High tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Bold

Fratta is Maculan's Bordeaux-inspired flagship red, one of northeastern Italy's landmark wines. A Cabernet-Merlot blend aged 18 months in new French oak, it rivals top Veneto reds in complexity and ageing potential. Fausto Maculan was among the first producers in the Veneto to vinify Bordeaux varieties at serious quality levels.

Sweet · Full-bodied · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

A passito-style dessert wine from Vicenza revived by Fausto Maculan in 1974. Vespaiola grapes are harvested late and dried on twisted cords (torcolato means 'twisted') for months before pressing. The result is a wine of high intensity, with botrytis-influenced apricot honey character balanced by the grape's naturally high acidity.

Dry · Full-bodied · High acidity · Elegant · Contemplative

Molceo is among the most complex white wines produced in the Lugana DOC. Extended lees contact in both oak and steel develops remarkable textural richness and autolytic complexity in the Turbiana grape. One of the first producers to prove that Lugana could produce serious age-worthy whites.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Contemplative

La Rocca is 100% Garganega from the volcanic tufa hillside above Soave castle, barrel-fermented and aged. Develops hazelnut-honey complexity over 10-plus years while retaining the grape's almond-mineral core.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Contemplative

Otto is Pra's barrel-aged prestige Soave, named for the year the oldest vines were planted (1908); extensive lees contact in barriques produces a Garganega of remarkable richness, hazelnut-cream complexity and long ageing potential.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

The flagship of the Montello DOCG, a structured Bordeaux-blend red. Serafini and Vidotto pioneered Bordeaux-variety production on the Montello hills in the 1980s. Il Rosso dell'Abazia is the cornerstone wine of the designation.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Bold · Rustic

The 20% Oseleta in Campo dei Gigli adds a peppery, dark-spice dimension to the Corvina-Corvinone dried fruit base; from the Mezzane valley outside the Classico zone, the wine shows an earthier, more structured style than comparable Classico Amarone.

Sweet · Full-bodied · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

A reference wine of the Colli Euganei Fior d'Arancio DOCG (elevated to DOCG in 2010). Moscato Giallo grapes are dried (passito) on bamboo racks in the volcanic Euganean Hills; the intensely floral and orange-scented result is distinctive within Italian sweet wine.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

The Riserva Sergio Zenato is the estate's memorial bottling to its founder, made only in selected vintages and aged five years in oak; high Oseleta proportion and extended ageing produce Zenato's most structured wine within the range, built for long cellaring.