Old vines in Valpolicella

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

Castel Caina is Ca' La Bionda's premium single-vineyard selection from the highest Marano valley plots at the foot of the ancient Caina hill; the volcanic soils produce even greater mineral depth and acidity than the estate Classico, with outstanding ageing potential.

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 · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Bold

A deep ruby red of important structure and a fullness of aroma the estate calls immediately recognisable for complexity and elegance, with a share of Oseleta giving forest-fruit aromatics and pronounced tannin.

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 · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

A long-aged Amarone built around multi-variety appassimento, with concentration of dried fruit, leather and tobacco, firm but resolved tannins and a long finish.

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 · 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 · High acidity · Contemplative · Rustic

Pergole Vece is from Le Salette's century-old pergola-trained Corvina vines at 450m elevation in Fumane, producing an Amarone of particular freshness and aromatic complexity; high altitude preserves acidity while old vines add concentration.

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

Begali's Monte Ca' Bianca is a traditional-school Amarone from very old Corvina vines; deep mineral iron note and high acidity give it a distinctive, food-friendly profile within the Classico zone.

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 · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Refreshing · Funky

Ruby, with small red fruits, iris flower and rose on the nose, then a palate where freshness and salinity dominate with minty notes and crunchy spice.

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

Intense red with wide legs in the glass from the higher alcohols, recalling dried grapes on the nose with shifting, articulated scents closing on refined spice and balsamic notes, then fleshy, enveloping and extremely persistent in the mouth.

Dry · Light-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Refreshing · Funky

Straw yellow, with white flowers, citrus notes and grapefruit seed on the nose and great freshness and sapidity on the palate, an easy-drinking, thirst-quenching bottle-fermented white.

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

Ambrosan is the single-parcel selection from Nicolis's oldest vines on the Villa Girardi estate, given an extra year in large Slavonian casks compared to the estate Amarone; a more concentrated and austere expression of tobacco-cedar style with excellent ageing potential.

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.

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

Speri's Le Bine de Jago Recioto represents the traditional sweet red wine of Valpolicella before Amarone became dominant; the fermentation-arrested fruit preserves Corvina's characteristic high acidity beneath the luscious chocolate-cherry sweetness.

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 · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Capitel Monte Olmi is Tedeschi's single-vineyard prestige Amarone, from the Monte Olmi hill above San Pietro in Cariano, with exceptional concentration and finesse, reflecting one of the oldest family estates in Valpolicella.

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

La Fabriseria (old Venetian dialect for the forge) is Tedeschi's second single-vineyard Amarone from a plot on the Monte Olmi hillside; greater tobacco-iron concentration than the Capitel Monte Olmi, with a more austere, mineral-forward character.

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.

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

Campo Morar (meadow of mulberries) is Viviani's single-vineyard Amarone from the highest plots on the Mazzano ridge in Negrar, at over 400 metres elevation; the altitude confers remarkable freshness and acidity to the dried-fruit concentration, producing a wine of particular precision and longevity.