Aged cheese in Veneto

Dry · Light-bodied · Racy acidity · Funky · Savoury

Col Fondo (with sediment) is the traditional method of making Prosecco before the Charmat process became dominant. Bele Casel's version undergoes secondary fermentation in bottle, leaving the lees (col fondo), resulting in a cloudy, autolytic character that is the antithesis of the commercial tank-method style.

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 · 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.

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 · Medium-bodied · High acidity · Festive · Elegant

Miele (honey) is Monte Tondo's Recioto di Soave DOCG, a rare sweet wine from appassimento-dried Garganega grapes. Recioto di Soave predates Soave's dry style and is considered the original historic wine of the Soave hills. Monte Tondo's version captures honey, dried apricot and candied citrus balanced by the grape's naturally high acidity.

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

Monte Tondo's signature Soave Superiore DOCG from the Casette Foscarin single-vineyard site on high-elevation basalt terraces east of the Classico zone. Extended lees contact adds texture while preserving the natural mineral character of volcanic Garganega.

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

Pieropan's Recioto di Soave from the Le Colombare parcel sits within the long sweet-wine tradition of the Soave zone (Recioto di Soave DOCG, established 1998); dried Garganega produces apricot-honey concentration kept fresh by the varietal's trademark high acidity.

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

I Capitelli is Anselmi's late-harvest sweet Garganega, made from overripe and botrytised bunches from the Capitel Croce and Capitel Foscarino hills; rich, honeyed and apricot-dominated but lifted by the grape's natural acidity that keeps it from cloying.

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.

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 · 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 · Bold · Rustic

Zenato's Classico Amarone incorporates 20% Oseleta adding firm pepper tannin and dark fruit spice to the Corvina-led blend; aged in a combination of large Slavonian and small French oak that bridges traditional and modern styles.

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.