Winter drinking in Valpolicella

Sweet · Full-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Romantic · Elegant

Golden yellow with amber reflections, intense and persistent in flowers, ripe white-fleshed fruit and almond, recalling apricot, honey, orange blossom and vanilla, then warm, soft, full and structured with a base of acidity holding it in balance.

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

Deep ruby with garnet reflections, intense and complex in dried flowers, sour cherry and wild cherry conserve, sweet spice, cherry chocolate, china bark and forest-flower honey with faint vine bark and green olive, and typically Marano on the palate for its piercing acidity and finesse: dry, at the edge of off-dry, warm and soft with velvety tannins.

Sweet · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Fruity · Romantic

Deep garnet with violet reflections, fruity, intense and persistent in sour cherry, wild cherry and blueberry with violet, cinnamon and white pepper, sweet and harmonious but never cloying, fresh and extremely fruity with red-fruit conserve and cinnamon in the mouth.

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 · Firm tannin · Medium acidity · Bold · Contemplative

Garnet red with an intense, ethereal and spiced nose, from bunches chosen twice over, first in the vineyard for ripeness and loose berries, then in the fruttaio for integrity and health.

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.

Sweet · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Romantic · Festive

Deep ruby red turning garnet with age, an intense bouquet with hints of fruit and spice, and a smooth, sweet, full and velvety palate, from bunches selected at harvest and dried in the fruttaio.

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 · Firm tannin · Medium acidity · Bold · Savoury

Brilliant red, with clean red cherry and berry aromas lifted by a floral touch, then an initially sweet, glyceric mouthfeel followed by a slightly bitter note and a notable tannic bite over lively red-fruit flavours.

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

Intense garnet red, with intense and complex scents of cherry and red fruits well married to pleasant spiced notes from the wood, and a round, structured palate carrying what the estate calls an extraordinary freshness and the potential for long evolution.

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 · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · Medium acidity · Bold · Contemplative

Garnet red, intensely scented of sour cherry preserved in spirit, wild berries and spice, with a full, dry, velvety mouth built on three months of drying and two years in wood.

Sweet · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Romantic · Contemplative

Corte Rugolin's sweet Recioto, made from the best bunches dried for three to four months in the fruttaio, in the traditional sweet style of the valley.

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.

Medium Sweet · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Contemplative · Rustic

Intense garnet, clean and complex in forest fruits and sugared almond, cherries and sour cherries in spirit, spice, vanilla, chocolate, cinnamon and liquorice, with violet, iris and wild flowers when young, and only 50 grams per litre of sugar so it stays austere.

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.

Sweet · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Romantic · Festive

Deep, intense garnet, extremely complex in forest fruits and sugared almond, cherry and plum jam and sour cherries in spirit with light spice, vanilla, chocolate, cinnamon and liquorice, shading into violet, iris and wild meadow flowers, with a body the estate calls sweet, delicate, harmonious and soft as velvet.

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

Costa Arente's flagship expression of the Valpantena, hand-picked and hand-selected at Grezzana and first made in 2013.

Sweet · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Romantic · Festive

The estate calls Recioto the mythical father of Amarone, and added its own to the range in 2020, made from the Valpantena's hand-picked, hand-selected fruit.

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

A great concentration of scents recalling the cherry typical of the Marano valley, then an enveloping palate with a long and persistent aftertaste, from grapes that lose about forty percent of their weight in the drying room.

Sweet · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Romantic · Contemplative

A sweet red at 120 to 140 grams per litre of residual sugar that the estate says carries a great minerality, giving it extraordinary freshness and drinkability despite the sweetness.

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

Ruby red with violet reflections, with the territory clearly marked on the nose in marasca, plum and undergrowth fruit alongside consistently refined notes of cocoa and tobacco, then a full mouth of great structure, velvet and roundness with a persistent close.

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 · Firm tannin · Medium acidity · Bold · Contemplative

Made from the best hand-picked bunches dried three to four months in plateaux, which raises the sugar concentration by twenty-five to thirty percent, then fermented about twenty-five to thirty days and aged two to three years in barrique.

Sweet · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Romantic · Festive

A wine of very old Veronese tradition, from selected bunches dried at least four months with a weight loss of at least forty percent, fermented at 18 to 22 degrees and refined six months in steel.

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 · Medium tannin · High acidity · Savoury · Bold

An intense, complex Amarone of traditional school: fruit conserve and small red fruits with the pleasantly vegetal, aromatic-herb notes the estate credits to altitude, then chocolate, black pepper and vanilla from the wood, sapid with soft balanced tannin.

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.

Sweet · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Romantic · Contemplative

Intense with concentrated cherry and redcurrant, then dense ripe forest fruits with a pinch of dark chocolate: an unusual dessert red of power and elegance, harmonious and seductive, at 100 to 110 grams per litre of sugar.

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 · 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 · Firm tannin · Medium acidity · Bold · Contemplative

The Squarano estate's Amarone, from a Corvina and Corvinone base with Rondinella, dried in the traditional appassimento and matured in the family's historic cellars.

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.

Sweet · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Festive · Romantic

The traditional sweet red of the Valpolicella: impenetrable ruby, cooked cherry and fruit in spirit on the nose, and a complex, pleasing alternation of sweetness and acidity with a long finish.

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.

Sweet · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Romantic

Intense red with violet reflections, an intoxicating nose of dried grapes, cherries in spirit and dried fruit closing on refined spice, and a mouth the estate calls fleshy and crunchy.

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

A Demeter-certified Amarone from grapes that lose forty percent of their weight in the drying room, soft pressed in February and fermented at a natural 13 to 17 degrees with a long maceration for maximum fruit extraction.

Sweet · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Romantic

Made only from the best grapes of the best vintages, with the drying extended to 150 days, a gentle pressing and a two-month fermentation in open tonneau before at least two years in new tonneau.

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 · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · Medium acidity · Contemplative · Savoury

Deep ruby red, complex, harmonious and elegant with dried fruit, conserve, undergrowth, walnut husk and leather, then balanced, rich, delicate, austere and persistent on the palate.

Sweet · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Romantic · Festive

Deep red, intense with floral notes of violet, iris and wild rose alongside vanilla, and full, sweet and delicate on the palate after a spontaneous fermentation stopped at the desired sugar and alcohol.

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 · Firm tannin · Medium acidity · Bold · Contemplative

A deep garnet Amarone with an intense nose of black cherries and cherries carrying the notes of the drying process, spicy dark chocolate and tobacco, plus goudron from ageing, and a generous, velvety, highly extracted palate marked by an intense mineral hint.

Sweet · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Romantic · Contemplative

Deep garnet with violet hues, particularly fruity when young, with red fruits and undergrowth over spice, coffee and bitter chocolate, then a sweet, velvety, warm and elegant palate showing fruit jam and vanilla.

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

A very intense ruby Amarone of great structure and softness, with cherry, small red fruits, plum, spice, tobacco and aromatic herbs on the nose and the same aromas returning in the mouth, where the tannins are very sweet but present and give the wine length and depth.

Sweet · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Romantic

Deep ruby, with cherry conserve, very ripe plum, small red fruits, spice, tobacco and chocolate on the nose, and a powerful, fat, sweet palate that the estate insists is never cloying, returning cherry, plum, cocoa and a light mineral note.

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

Deep ruby tending to garnet, with very clean scents of berry fruit, jam and cherries in spirit, and flavours of vanilla, spice, liquorice and bitter almonds.

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.

Sweet · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Romantic · Fruity

An intense ruby sweet red, rich on the nose with cherry, raspberry and chocolate, soft and moderately sweet on the palate and balanced by exceptional minerality.

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.

Sweet · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Romantic · Contemplative

Garnet red, with enveloping scents of dried grape, violet and conserve, then warm and velvety on the palate, intense and full, a refined red passito the estate calls a wine for meditation.

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

Produced at 500 metres on the soil of very ancient disintegrating lavas in the sub-zone the estate calls Purano, a dry wine that takes its name from the bitter vein that characterises it, full-bodied, alcoholic and of great flavour.

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 · High tannin · Medium acidity · Bold · Savoury

Deep ruby, with cherry conserve, vanilla, liquorice and tobacco on the nose and a warm, soft, intensely tannic palate, from organically farmed Corvina and Rondinella dried in a fruttaio at low temperature and controlled humidity.

Sweet · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Romantic · Festive

Impenetrable dark red, with hints of sour cherry conserve, balsamic notes and chocolate, then fruity and soft on the palate with an elegant tannic grip.

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 · 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.

Sweet · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Festive · Romantic

Made only in the best vintages, the estate's sweet wine of tradition, of feast days and of special occasions, from grapes dried a minimum of 120 days.

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

Made from Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella dried a minimum of ninety days, the estate's Amarone keeps a dry and refined style, balanced on the nose and harmonious in the mouth.

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

Garnet red, intense with the characteristic cherry note made complex by spice, and elegantly tannic on the palate, well balanced and powerful.

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 · Contemplative · Bold

Full-bodied, intense and elegant, holding the character of grapes picked at altitude: aromatic herbs and wild flowers, dry and carried by real power.

Sweet · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Romantic

Deep violet in the glass, a generous bouquet of varied spice, ripe cherry, marasca and creme de cassis over toasted walnut, floral notes and chocolate, with a soft sweet entry, real freshness and a very fine tannin that will hold it for years.

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.