Old vines 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 · Rustic · Contemplative

Ca' La Bionda's Amarone reflects the volcanic and calcareous soils of the Marano valley top: a mineral, iron-inflected style with high acidity and a savoury character quite distinct from estates lower in the valley.

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 · Medium-bodied · High acidity · Elegant · Savoury

Le Bine is the top single-vineyard Soave Superiore DOCG from Fasoli Gino's organically farmed estate. 'Bine' are the traditional wooden stakes used for old Garganega training; this label celebrates the estate's old-vine heritage from individual pergola-trained parcels on volcanic basalt.

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

La Frosca from the Gini family's oldest Garganega vines on the highest basalt-volcanic slopes of Monteforte d'Alpone; the chalky mineral texture, fennel herb and white-peach fruit represent the Classico zone's basalt terroir in its purest expression.

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

The definitive benchmark Amarone: monumental concentration from multi-variety appassimento, extraordinary aromatic depth of dried fruit, leather and tobacco, with firm but resolved tannins and a finish of exceptional length.

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 · 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 one of Italy's most ancient and austere red grapes, native to the Piave river plains in Treviso province. Italo Cescon has championed its rehabilitation since the 1960s. High tannin and acid give the wine its characteristic austerity, but serious age-worthiness.

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; the deep mineral iron note and high acidity set it apart, making it one of the most distinctive and food-friendly examples in the Classico zone.

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

Begali's Recioto is made from the same Ca' Bianca old-vine fruit as the Amarone, with the fermentation arrested before dryness; the result is a luscious, chocolate-cherry sweet red with firm tannic structure.

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 · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Romantic · Elegant

Pieropan's Recioto di Soave from the Le Colombare parcel is the most prestigious expression of the ancient sweet white wine tradition of the Soave zone; dried Garganega produces extraordinary apricot-honey concentration kept fresh by the varietal's trademark high acidity.

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

Calvarino is Pieropan's basalt and limestone single-vineyard Soave, planted in 1924 to Garganega and Trebbiano di Soave; the volcanic basalt soils give a crackling acidity and mineral depth far beyond the appellation average, with exceptional ageing potential.

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; arguably Italy's most cellar-worthy white wine, developing 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.

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.

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

Amedeo is Suavia's Recioto di Soave DOCG from the ancient Monte Carbonare vineyard; the sweet dried-Garganega wine balances luscious apricot-honey sweetness with the grape's natural high acidity, keeping the finish fresh and complex.

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

Suavia's Monte Carbonare from the village of Soave itself: 100% Garganega from a steep volcanic tufa hillside with century-old vines; lees-aged in large casks producing exceptional mineral depth, citrus-almond precision and great cellaring potential.

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 · 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.