Dinner party in Valpolicella

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

Allegrini's estate Amarone Classico blends Corvina and Corvinone in nearly equal measure with a small percentage of Oseleta; the result is a polished, internationally styled Amarone with plush dried-fruit concentration and a refined tannin frame.

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

A 100% Corvina IGT aged in French barriques rather than dried: La Poja demonstrates the varietal's structure and ageing potential when treated outside the appassimento framework, producing a powerful, savoury red that rivals Amarone in complexity.

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

A Veronese IGT using partial ripasso over Amarone pomace adding richness to the Corvina-Rondinella blend, while a small Sangiovese component adds acidity. Approachable but complex mid-tier red from Allegrini.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Fruity · Savoury

Intense ruby red, with berry fruit and sultana on the nose and a fresh, sapid palate carrying light tannin and a gentle spice, from Pier Paolo Antolini's favourite varieties.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Savoury · Elegant

Ruby red, with an intense and complex nose opening on small red fruits, notably raspberry, plum and marasca, that evolves into spiced notes, sweet vanilla and intense clove, then fresh and sapid with a fine tannin that wraps the palate in softness and warmth.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Bold · Savoury

Deep ruby red with a broad, well-defined nose and a decisive but elegant taste, robust and intense in structure with excellent drinkability, a wine the estate says wins on character and balance.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Savoury · Fruity

Clear and lively ruby red, intense and complex, opening on raspberry, cherry and marasca and evolving into spice, sweet vanilla and intense clove, then fresh and sapid with a fine tannin that wraps the palate in softness and warmth and a pleasant dry finish.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Rustic · Savoury

Ruby red with garnet reflections, vinous and intense on the nose and decisive, dry and soft in the mouth, from silty and clay soils inside the Valpolicella Classica zone.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Elegant · Savoury

Intense ruby red, fruity and fine on the nose, elegant and soft in the mouth, built from grapes given a short and sometimes partial drying and in some vintages blended with fresh must.

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

Deep ruby red with garnet reflections, intense and spiced on the nose and dry and soft in the mouth, made from both indigenous and non-indigenous varieties in the estate's vineyards.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Refreshing

A Valpolicella Superiore from fresh grapes at 450 metres, whose wide day-night temperature swing gives a particular spiciness on the nose and, the estate says, an entirely distinctive polyphenolic profile, with acidity marking a serious structure.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Fruity · Savoury

Brilliant ruby, with red plum, marzipan and exotic flowers over a light saline shade, then juicy and enveloping with marked acidity that keeps the red fruit and spice intact, closing on the purity of the fruit.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · Racy acidity · Refreshing · Festive

Straw yellow with golden reflections and a fine, persistent perlage, with delicate scents of freshly baked croissant crust and echoes of exotic fruit and citrus, then vigorous and enveloping on the palate with a lashing, crystalline acidity.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Savoury · Bold

Intense ruby red with garnet reflections, with the typical cherry and small red fruit scents alongside redcurrant conserve, well married to pleasant spiced notes from the wood ageing, and a soft palate balanced between freshness and tannic weave.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Savoury · Fruity

Transparent and brilliant ruby red, with the typical cherry and small red fruit scents plus floral and spiced shadings, and a fresh, sapid palate whose fruited character integrates pleasantly with a delicate tannic weave.

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

The cooperative's estate Amarone Classico provides accessible quality from 230 family growers across the Classico zone; a solid, tobacco-cherry traditional Amarone at significantly better value than single-estate bottlings at comparable quality.

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

Domaso is the cooperative's flagship single-vineyard Amarone from the 14-hectare Maternigo hill parcel, showing appreciably greater concentration and mineral precision than the estate-level wine; the earthy, tobacco-cedar style reflects the Maternigo terroir's calcareous character.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Savoury

Ruby with magenta edges, a complex and delicate nose of sour cherry and bramble blackberry, cedar wood, orange peel, mocha and officinal herbs, then a fine, balanced mouth with excellent tannin grain and a vibrant saline trail.

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

Made by refermenting the Valpolicella Classico on Amarone skins still wet with wine, a red of strong, decisive character with an intense bouquet of cherry, plum and conserve and notable staying power.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Savoury · Rustic

Intense ruby to garnet, with a clean nose of undergrowth fruit, sour cherry and plum lightly spiced with leather and pepper, and a robust, complex body that harmoniously echoes those aromas.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Savoury · Bold

The second of Costa Arente's three Valpantena expressions, first made in 2016, combining the estate's traditional harvesting with modern cellar technique.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Savoury · Elegant

One of the estate's three faithful photographs of the Valpantena, first made in 2016, from a wholly manual harvest and grape selection intended to keep the nuances of each vintage in the glass.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Savoury

A Superiore of real finesse and elegance, with clear scents of spice, small forest fruits and rose, and a palate the estate describes as showing great complexity and freshness.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Savoury · Rustic

Completely dry in the Cà la Bionda style, with freshness and elegance accompanying a large structure built by refermenting the young wine on skins still rich in colour, aroma and sugar.

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

Dal Forno's entry into the Valpolicella range already shows the estate's signature intensity: deeply coloured, barrique-aged and concentrated beyond what the DOC classification implies.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Savoury · Refreshing

Ruby red with garnet and orange reflections, floral on the nose with evident ripe fruit that stays fresh, and a vertical palate playing on acid and saline notes with an excellent balance between minerality and a tannin that closes dry and persistent.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Savoury

From vines over sixty years old on south-west to north-east exposed calcareous soils rich in skeleton and well drained, giving distinct perceptions of forest fruits, wild strawberry and blueberry, sour cherry and ripe marasca, and a well-structured, flowing palate with the minerality the estate calls typical of the Falezze terroir.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Savoury · Rustic

A dry red from partly dried grapes, soft pressed and destemmed, fermented at 24 to 27 degrees with fifteen days of maceration and three hand punch-downs a day.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Rustic · Savoury

A dry red held in steel until February, then passed over the Amarone pomace for fifteen days at fifteen degrees before two full years in cask.

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

A blend of local Corvina with international Cabernet in the Quintarelli style: concentrated, savoury and structured, with the Bordeaux varieties adding colour and spine to the Valpolicella base.

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

Quintarelli's entry-level Valpolicella is already a lesson in traditional winemaking: high-acid, savoury cherry fruit with dried-herb complexity and three years in large oak adding gentle structure.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Savoury · Elegant

A refined, full-bodied red that the estate calls full and decisive on both nose and palate thanks to the ripasso technique, with tannin and freshness in elegant balance and a silky, easy-drinking texture.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Rustic · Savoury

Garnet red with scents of cherry and dried fruit, a medium-bodied wine of good longevity drawn from a single 3.5 hectare cru planted with a mix of old and new Veronese varieties.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · Medium acidity · Bold · Savoury

A pre-dried Superiore built on sour cherry and blackberry conserve, plum and withered violet, following through into caramel, white pepper, cocoa, walnut and vanilla from two years in French tonneaux.

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

The estate says refermenting on Amarone pomace extracts the typical Amarone characters into the wine: dried-fruit scent, alcohol and structure, giving a Ripasso suited to medium-term ageing.

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

Le Salette's estate Amarone Classico, from the high-altitude Fumane vineyards farmed by Monica Scamperle, shows the distinctive freshness and orange-peel note that characterise the estate's high-elevation fruit; a more approachable entry to the Le Salette style than the Pergole Vece.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Savoury · Rustic

Le Salette's take on the technique the estate calls an ancient Valpolicella practice used for centuries, adding Oseleta to the classic blend for grip.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Savoury

The estate's named Superiore, carrying the Squarano name of the property itself and blending Corvina and Corvinone with Rondinella and ten percent other native Valpolicella varieties.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Savoury · Elegant

The classic Superiore of the Squarano estate, from a Corvina and Corvinone base with Rondinella, made by traditional methods on calcareous and clay soils.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Rustic · Savoury

The Squarano estate's Ripasso, from the same Corvina and Corvinone base as its Superiore, made by the traditional Valpolicella refermentation and aged in the family's historic cellars.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Bold · Elegant

Dry, rich, velvety, complex and elegant: intense ruby, wild berries, conserve and vanilla on the nose, then rich, warm and intense cooked fruit with cocoa and vanilla on the finish.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Fruity · Easygoing

Rich, round and velvety but sociable at table: intense ruby, ripe cherry and sweet spice on the nose, rich and intense in cherry and wild berries on the palate with good persistence and soft tannins.

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

Masi's entry-level Classico Amarone is the house's most widely distributed wine and among the most accessible classic-zone bottlings, balancing dried-cherry concentration with a restrained herbaceous character and good structure.

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

Masi's Toar is a 30% Oseleta-dominant Veronese IGT that deliberately showcases the rarely-used indigenous variety; partial drying of the Oseleta component adds concentration and the grape's characteristic dark spice and iron mineral character.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Refreshing · Savoury

Ruby red, with ripe red fruit of cherry and sour cherry alongside minty notes and spice, confirmed on the palate with good freshness and sapidity and, in the estate's words, great drinkability.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Refreshing

From white marl and flint at 400 to 500 metres: ruby, with spice, balsamic notes and mint on the nose, and a dry, persistent palate that finishes fresh, with what the estate calls great elegance and finesse.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Savoury · Bold

Ruby red, recalling cherry, tobacco, aromatic herbs and spice, and closing on freshness with balsamic and minty notes and a long persistence.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Refreshing · Elegant

Ruby red, where the freshness and integrity of the fruit give character to a medium-bodied, agreeable wine carrying the persistence of elegant dried-flower notes.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Savoury

Ruby red, elegant on the nose with notes of red fruit and spice and a fine wood aroma, with real body and a balance between tannin and acidity. A Ripasso made without any appassimento of the grapes.

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

Bright yellow with greenish reflections, with ripe fruit and floral notes and a full, mineral, enveloping palate of great persistence and elegance.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Savoury · Bold

Deep ruby red, intense and elegant with ripe plum and cherry and spice, then full-bodied, balanced, enveloping and of excellent persistence.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Bold · Savoury

Intense ruby red, decisive on the nose with cherry in spirit, bitter almond and leather, then round and structured with soft tannins and excellent persistence.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Savoury · Elegant

A deep ruby cru Superiore from a volcanic parcel at 400 metres, clear and intense in red fruit with spice notes, and full-bodied, sapid and persistent on the palate with medium tannin and good roundness.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Savoury · Rustic

Deep ruby with an intense, clear aroma of spice and the particular notes given by refermenting on Amarone skins, then a full-bodied, structured, sapid and persistent palate with evolved tannins.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Refreshing · Elegant

A Valpolicella Superiore made only from fresh grapes with no drying, from limestone rock that the estate credits with a complex structure, elegance and notable ageing potential.

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

Built from roughly seventy percent fresh grapes and thirty percent lightly dried, a fine and complex Valpolicella the estate calls ambitious, with real character and the frame to improve in bottle.

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

Santa Sofia's Amarone is a traditional-style Classico from the historic Pedemonte estate, emphasising tobacco-leather complexity and long cellarability; the 16th-century villa setting adds heritage gravitas to a consistently well-made Amarone.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Savoury · Elegant

A deep ruby red, harmonious and sapid, with an intense and agreeable scent, drawn from the Ronchiel, La Costa and Monte Sant'Urbano vineyards and picked late at the end of October.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Bold · Savoury

Intense ruby red with scents of undergrowth, sour cherries and plums, and a robust, complex body that the estate says feeds back into the aromatics.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Easygoing · Refreshing

Luminous ruby, elegant and aromatically complex for its level, with fruit and prevailing spice notes, sapid and light-footed with extraordinary drinkability.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Elegant · Savoury

Vigour and elegance in one bottle: bright ruby, intensely fruited with spice, decisive and refined in structure, with velvety tannins and a persistent close.

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

Speri's estate Amarone Classico reflects the six-generation family's traditional approach with large-cask ageing, producing a fresh, floral, tobacco-inflected Amarone that remains one of the most consistent classic-zone expressions.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Elegant · Savoury

Intense ruby red with a broad, enveloping bouquet of fruit and aromatic herbs, then spiced notes and a solid, decisive palate that is at the same time soft and elegant.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Savoury · Elegant

Intense red, with red fruit, spice and cocoa on the nose, then warm and soft in the mouth and well balanced by a round tannin, from a ripasso the estate deliberately applies more restrictively than the appellation rules allow.

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

The Capitel dei Nicalo is Tedeschi's Valpolicella Superiore partially ripassoed over dried skins, offering accessible Corvina cherry fruit with tobacco structure and good food-pairing versatility.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Savoury · Rustic

Deep red tending to garnet with age, with a characteristic and pleasant scent and a full, velvety, full-bodied flavour, obtained by refermenting the Valpolicella on the residual pomace of the estate's Recioto and Amarone.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Savoury · Bold

Ruby red, with hints of red fruit and raspberry and the black pepper the estate credits to Molinara, plus toast, caramel and vanilla from the French oak, and a robust flavour with a full, persistent body.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Savoury · Rustic

Concentrated ruby red, with blackberry and blackcurrant, withered violet, black pepper and balsamic notes, then soft and warm with a measured tannic grip.

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

Tommasi's estate Amarone Classico represents the fourth-generation family's traditional approach: a high proportion of Corvinone adds floral lift to the dried-cherry concentration while three years in large casks develops structure.

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

Tommasi's Ripasso offers the hallmark refermentation complexity over dried Amarone skins in a well-structured, cherry-tobacco dominated medium red that is one of the zone's best-value offerings in the Ripasso DOC.

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

Valentina Cubi's certified organic Amarone from the Fumane hillsides shows a distinctly earthy, mineral character from organic viticulture; the Oseleta addition contributes pepper spice and the high acidity reflects the altitude of the Fumane Classico zone.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Savoury

A Ripasso of structure and at the same time great freshness and fruit, distinguished, in the estate's words, by its brilliant colour, its cleanliness on nose and palate and its considerable elegance.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Easygoing · Savoury

Selected from the best Valpolicella in the cellar, a wine in which freshness, fruit and soft notes from refinement blend together, which the estate says gives it great versatility.

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

A garnet red of good intensity born from the union of Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara with Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese, whose dominant notes the estate gives as marasca cherry in spirit, liquorice and spice.

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

Valentina Cubi's organic Valpolicella Superiore shows the freshness of high-altitude Fumane fruit with earthy mineral character from organic farming; a genuinely characterful everyday Valpolicella with better-than-average expressiveness.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · Medium acidity · Bold · Savoury

Intense ruby tending to garnet with age, intense in red fruit of cherry and redcurrant with spice, well balanced with dense, amalgamated tannins of excellent structure.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · Medium acidity · Savoury · Elegant

Intense ruby red, intense in red fruit of cherry and redcurrant, well balanced with dense, enveloping and elegant tannins, and unusually for the zone matured in terracotta amphora.

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

Dark, dense and brooding in colour, with cassis and blackberry over floral lift, then a full palate that shades into tobacco and almond and closes velvety, soft and fresh.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Refreshing · Fruity

Claudio Viviani's entry red from the Mazzano hillside above Negrar: delicate bright ruby, red-berry and floral aromatics, good structure lengthened by a fresh acid vein.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Rustic · Savoury

A medium-structured red that carries the aromatic signature of its older brother the Amarone with a lighter touch, the result of refermenting the Valpolicella on Amarone skins.

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

Zyme's Kairos is a modern interpretation of Classico Amarone; former Quintarelli cellarmaster Celestino Gaspari applies small French oak ageing to produce a polished, concentrated expression that bridges traditional intensity with contemporary oak integration.