These high-scoring wines are made with Valpolicella’s workhorse grape, corvina, and in the three main styles of the area; the fruit is picked and crushed for Valpolicella normale and dried for Amarone and Recioto
Photo: Mitchell Shenker
Valpolicella's Treasures -Modern yet distinctly ItalianYet it has been the British and the Commonwealth in particular who have been most critical of the wine. Jancis Robinson writes dismissively in Grapes, Vines & Wines that, "Some producers even take the trouble to show us that [the Valpolicella] blend can be a complex marvel." Just as dismissively, Aussie Oz Clarke posits in his Encyclopedia of Grapes that there are "greater Italian reds found in Tuscany and Piedmont."
Many producers in Valpolicella would have agreed that there was some truth to these assertions. According to Sabrina Campagnola, whose family has been making wine since 1870 in what would officially be named the Valpolicella Classico zone in 1968, "Unfortunately, most producers of regular Valpolicella started producing less but better wine only ten years ago. Better late than never. The higher demand for Amarone has pushed producers to improve the quality of all the wines, including Valpolicella."
Packing the punch of alcohol, extraction and purity of fruit the equal of the best the New World has to offer, the wines of Valpolicella, and especially those made in the Recioto and Amarone styles, have obvious appeal for those in burning pursuit of the next flamboyant high scorer. Yet at the same time, these wines from Northeast Italy's Veneto region are unmistakably Italian.
Or, more accurately, unmistakably Veronese. The fan-shaped collection of communes and vineyards spreading out west, north and east of the ancient city of Verona produce wines that offer an intriguing combination of muscle (alcohol levels routinely approach 16 percent); fruit (especially cherry in all its possibilities: dried, cooked, macerated and freshly plucked); minerals; and velvety texture. For all of the majesty of Barolo and Barbaresco, in their classic state they are often somewhat lean and floral, especially as they age. And now that the Super Tuscan category has been diluted by the presence of so many bottles, consumers are rightly confused as to the origins of many of them. Brunello certainly packs a wallop, though much of that is attributable to the ferocious acidity and tannins of the young wines. Of all Italy's great reds - and this is a country defined by its reds perhaps more so than any other - none balances the sheer power and richness of Valpolicella while continuing to be recognizably itself.
Even modernity in the vineyard and cellar hasn't had the impact - negative or positive depending upon one's politics - in Valpolicella that it has had elsewhere in Italy, not to mention Spain and France. How could it? The wines were rich and extracted from the very beginning.
According to Andrea Sartori, president of the well-regarded Sartori estate, "There has been a lot of investment in Valpolicella. But we all know that good wine is made in the vineyard. We try not to spoil it in the cellar. The new equipment is great at eliminating risks, and if you have a bad vintage, it helps to make sure it's not a catastrophe. The wines now are just a bit rounder."
Elisabetta Fagioli of Montresor, an 18th-century family operation in the very heart of the Valpolicella Classica zone, concurs: "The wines have become cleaner, more approachable and definitely easier to understand for the international consumer, but otherwise little changed." Because her job as export manager puts her in contact with retailers and consumers around the world she should know. (For purposes of this article, the area of Valpolicella Classico will be referred to the way the locals identify it: It is called Classica because that word modifies Valpolicella, a feminine word in Italian. The wines, however, will be referred to as Valpolicella Classico because that is how the term appears on labels.)
Perhaps best of all from the consumer perspective, the wines are uniquely approachable at an early age. From the humblest, picnic-weight Valpolicella to graphite- and cherry-laced single-vineyard Amarone and the lusciously sweet Recioto, the wines of Valpolicella have the softness upon birth strived for by the "garagistas" of Saint-Emilion. At the same time, collectors will find much to like as well because the wines have more staying power than similarly priced fruit bombs from the Golden State. While it's fairly easy to spend more than $100 for an Amarone or Recioto, it certainly isn't necessary. Representative Amarones and Reciotos can be had for about $35, while better-grade Valpolicellas are often less than $20. There are, of course, containers of $7 and $8 Valpos available also, which is part of the reason the more serious wines of Valpolicella are still a relative secret to American consumers. Offers Franco Allegrini, who along with his sister Marilisa runs the very important family firm, "Up to seven or eight years ago, it was extremely difficult for a Valpolicella producer to be respected by the press and consumers. Valpolicella was identified as a simple red about which there was very little to say."
The timing couldn't be better for the wines of Valpolicella to catch the eye -- and palate -- of American wine drinkers. "Consumers seem to have a more open attitude toward wine today," says Alessandro Fabiano, great-grandson of the founder of the early 20th-century Fabiano concern.
Montresor's Fagioli also pegs the renewed interest in quality to about ten years ago. It was then that "some producers - and we were one of them - started showing different styles of Valpolicella, such as ripasso [in which the grape skins left over from making Amarone are added to the Valpolicella must in order to lend more body to the wine], a style very appealing to international tastes," she says. "There have been many improvements in the vineyards," Fabiano says, "including reductions in yield per hectare and more rigorous selection of grapes. These efforts have been combined with good marketing efforts." Factor in the good works of "great winemakers and ambassadors like Sandro Boscaini [the sixth generation of his family to run the storied Masi estate], the Allegrini family, Quintarelli and others, and we're effectively changing the market's opinion about the wines," Sartori adds.
It seems strange that a place so steeped in winemaking history is really only now making blips on the radar screens of American consumers. Despite there being evidence of grape cultivation as far back as three millennia and further proof that an Amarone-style wine dates to at least 1732, and even that a version of the word Valpolicella was written in the area as early as 1177, the serious wines of Valpolicella - the dry Amarone and the sweet Recioto - were only recently bottled in commercial quantities.
The first true release of an Amarone in the sense that a consumer would recognize today was Bolla's in 1953. And as well regarded as Masi and the important Bertani estates are, their first commercial releases were in 1966 and 1970, respectively. Of course, by 1970, Americans were practically drowning in cheap Valpolicella, so it's no wonder that serious consumers looked the other way or simply didn't see those hand-lettered bottles from Romano Dal Forno, Quintarelli, Cesari and Sergio Zenato.
Lightly styled Valpos are well known to Americans, but Amarone, and Recioto even more so, remain blank slates. This anonymity isn't for lack of production. The Veneto recently overtook its longtime rivals Apulia and Emilia-Romagna as the leading producer by volume in the country. Of this figurative ocean of wine, only about one-third is classified. To put this number in perspective, the Alto Adige's ratio is the highest in Italy at over 95 percent. (Technically the region consists of two halves, with Trentino being the other; Trentino's percentage is a bit lower, but still quite high.) The Veneto's abundance includes other appellations in addition to Valpolicella, but even so, there is a great deal of that classified wine: Valpolicella is the fourth most prolific DOC in the entire country behind only Chianti, Asti and neighboring Soave.
The statistics suggest that with familiarity comes contempt of sorts. We don't know the really good wines, but have all drunk more than our share of the simple ones. And it's not that there is scant production of Amarone, Recioto and serious Valpolicella - coined Super Valpolicella by some locals. It's not unusual for the top-flight wines, single vineyard or otherwise, to number at least 10,000 bottles, with multiples of that figure not at all uncommon. And these wines are really as approachable as the place. The production zone of Valpolicella, unlike many of Italy's rather difficult-to-unravel appellations, is easy to navigate, both geographically and on the bottle label.
Valpolicella is neatly framed by the Adige River on the south and west, by the huge Soave zone to the east and the Lessini Mountains to the north. The western Valpolicella border is the easternmost extension of another of those Italian wine areas that evoke memories of spaghetti dinners and red-checked tablecloths: Bardolino. Valpolicella, like Bardolino, is a blend of essentially the same three main grapes, though any similarities in the resulting wines end there. In an anomaly typical of the Italian regulatory system, Bardolino has "earned" the coveted extra "G" that is proudly worn by great wines such as Barolo, Barbaresco, Brunello and the like - and much less honestly by others that will remain nameless. "It seems that we are getting close to having at least an Amarone DOCG soon," Sartori says. "I think that there are few wines that deserve it more than Amarone, and I don't understand why it is not yet so," says Claudio Viviani, whose family vineyards are found at 1,600 feet above sea level in Classica. The extended Valpolicella zone appears to be in line for the promotion, too, according to Campagnola. But including areas outside of the original Classica zone is problematic in her opinion.
Like most major wine areas, Valpolicella has a historic center of production. For Italian wines, this area is more often than not referred to as the classico zone. The classico zone of Valpolicella is located just to the northwest of Verona, and consists of three vertically running valleys - Fumane, Marano and Negrar. From west to east, there are five main communes, the rough Italian equivalent of an American county named after its largest or most important town, within them: Sant'Ambrogio di Valpolicella; San Pietro in Cariano and Fumane; Marano di Valpolicella and Negrar.
The vineyards surrounding these communes are hilly, ranging in elevation from 230 to 1,500 feet above sea level. Soils vary somewhat by elevation with more alluvial silt at lower levels. Throughout the zone, including the Classica area and Valpolicella in general, there are great concentrations of Eocene limestone, basaltic tufa and cretaceous limestone and marl. It was the site of lots of volcanic activity in its prehistory and water - salt when it was covered by the sea, and freshwater streams more recently - has ensured that the vines have a stimulating source of nourishment. The climate is continental and can be quite warm in the summer and correspondingly cold in winter. The proximity of Lake Garda to the west and the breezeways that are the various valleys act to ameliorate extremes in either direction.
Plenty of rain can be the cause of mold and fungus, both ever-present concerns. However, this dampness proved to be the mother of invention because the unique style of Amarone, Recioto and Valpolicella made in the ripasso manner evolved purely out of necessity. The Romans, as was their modus operandi, cultivated the vine wherever their legions marched. They had practiced drying grapes on the vine in their southern holdings, but found that Valpolicella's humidity both encouraged rot and thwarted the possibility of complete vine drying. True to their inventive form, they came up with a workable solution: The ripe grape bunches were picked and then set to dry in a somewhat controlled environment. These drying lofts still didn't allow the grapes to become completely raisined, but they did result in a partial drying after some months. The semidried grapes were then handled much like regular wine grapes, and a sweet (but not-too-sweet) wine was born. An added benefit of making a sweet wine in this fashion was stability. "It could travel safely to all corners of the Roman Empire since there were no bottling plants back then," Sartori says.
Regardless of the version, three grapes are the main components of the blend. Corvina, with a few exceptions, is always the leading ingredient, followed in order of importance by rondinella and molinara. Outsiders are far less impressed with them than are the locals. Robinson's book doesn't even have an entry for rondinella and molinara, and she sniffs that corvina is essentially a tart lightweight. Clarke isn't much kinder in his, writing that rondinella is the "least characterful part" of the blend, though it is disease resistant, and molinara "contributes little except acidity." In an acknowledgment that the critics may have gotten at least part of it right, Allegrini says, "Molinara is no longer even compulsory [in the Valpolicella blend] but merely authorized according to the latest DOC regulations."
Perhaps a bit blinded like the parents who always think their baby is the most beautiful, Deborah Cesari, whose family firm was founded in 1936 in the important commune of San Pietro in Cariano, asserts, "There are no weaknesses in these grapes; maybe less body, I have to admit, in molinara, but corvina and rondinella give the underlying characteristics to the wine - the cherries, body and structure." No less an authority than Pliny the Elder echoes her sentiment. He praised the suitability of the big three to their habitat in the first century B.C.
Setting aside regular Valpolicella for now because it is made like other dry red wines, a version of Recioto that would be somewhat recognizable to today's consumer has been made in the area since at least the 4th century. In fact, there is some evidence that the Etruscans, at the height of their influence during the Bronze Age, made a Recioto-style wine. Recioto had historically been the more important wine until the last generation or so when wine tastes worldwide began shifting from sweet, to off-dry to dry. While this observation about evolving preferences isn't novel, Sandro Boscaini's explanation for it may be: "Now you can find candy everywhere," so sweet wines are no longer needed to satiate our latent demands for sugar. "The Recioto method is older than the Amarone method. We often say that Amarone is the son of Recioto," Nicola Fabiano says. And, adds Fagioli, "The ripasso method was developed during the 19th century to enrich and improve the quality of Valpolicella."
Amarone - that is, dry Recioto - developed in the 18th century when the must was allowed to ferment longer than usual. The word is said to derive from the Italian for bitter, amaro. Other than the residual sugar levels of the finished wines, Recioto and Amarone differ really only in the time periods for certain aspects of their production.
The grapes that become Amarone are typically picked in bunches a week or two before the regular Valpo harvest. These grapes are fairly ripe, but, most importantly, they have more acidity than grapes left on the vine longer. This helps the wines achieve the notable balance for which Amarone is known, even in the face of its pronounced alcohol. The bunches destined to be Recioto are correspondingly picked a bit later to maximize their ripeness before they are dried. Great care is taken to leave the grape skins undamaged because leaky grapes promote rot.
Traditionally, the bunches were then brought to lofts where they were hung vertically or laid out on straw mats to dry. Temperature and humidity in these lofts was controlled by manually opening and closing windows. Now computers have taken over this aspect of the job for many producers. The drying, or more accurately, the semi-drying, process - called appassimento - has been modernized a bit as well. Many producers, such as Allegrini, accelerate it in special dehumidification chambers where the environment can be precisely controlled in order to reduce the chance of rot and disease attacking the bunches. This phase usually only takes a few days and then the bunches are considered hardy enough to withstand the vagaries of loft drying. However, in an interesting turn from the modern back to the traditional, Allegrini says, "In the last few vintages, we have actually started to reduce the use of dehumidifiers, and do not use any when the weather conditions are ideal."
Hand picked in October, the bunches are then left to dry until the following January or February. Recioto grapes usually spend more time drying than Amarone grapes so that they can more fully concentrate their sugars. The grapes are gently pressed and macerated for anywhere from one week to several weeks. Fermentation takes place very, very slowly over longer periods of time than regular reds - upward of three and four months is not unusual. After all, there is a lot of sugar that needs to be converted, especially in the drier Amarones.
As is the case all over the world, a lot of French oak is used to age the new wines, in addition to the more traditional Slovenian casks and even American oak. Unlike the contretemps in Piedmont and Tuscany over barrels, however, there seems to be little interest in the debate in Valpolicella. "We mainly use French barriques from Allier and they give our wines a pleasant balance without changing too much of the original structure," Cesari says. Adds Viviani: "When you feel an excessive amount of wood in the wine, it means the wood was used incorrectly and not to its best advantage." One could argue that of all of the world's great reds, Amarone seems to reflect its barrel regimen the least. The wines just can't taste very "international" simply because they are made by such an unusual process out of grapes in which the rest of the world isn't interested. More to the point, Allegrini suggests that the uniqueness of the process "protects" the uniqueness of the wines: "In the case of Amarone, it must be considered that vinification takes place in winter when temperatures are low, and therefore it is slow and long. The completeness of the fermentation process inhibits, almost totally, giving an excessively oaky taste to the wine."
The relative merits of Valpolicella's native grapes are at the heart of what may be one of the few bona fide controversies in the area. Commentators agree that the three main grapes, whatever their shortfalls, are uniquely suited to the terroir of Valpolicella. Indeed, one would be hard-pressed to find any of them planted anywhere else in the world. Just as there was a move toward DOC rebellion in the hills of Chianti when producers wanted to add non-natives to the archaic Chianti blend or simply focus only on the very native sangiovese, the hills of Valpolicella have been alive with pro- and anti-French and solamente corvina propagandizing.
The venerable Allegrini family is at ground zero of this civil debate. Though not particularly old even by Valpolicella's less venerable tradition (unlike Tuscany, for example, where families routinely date their winemaking lineage back 500 years, most Valpolicella concerns stretch, at most, into the late 19th century), the Allegrini estate, though bottling its first vintage in 1950, is in many ways Valpolicella's market maker. Started by Giovanni Allegrini, whose name is proudly featured on the estate's high-scoring Recioto, the family business recently had to adjust to elder sibling Walter's death last year. "In some ways, my sister and I felt that we were facing the same problems as when our father died 20 years ago. Walter was the vineyard manager. But Walter, in the last period of his life, hired and trained a great staff to work in the vineyards,"Allegrini says. Based in Fumane, the Allegrinis own 170 acres of vineyards there and in Sant'Ambrogio and San Pietro. Many of Classica's best known crus are theirs, including La Poja and the estate's "jewel," La Grola.
These crus are at the center of the grape controversy. Starting with the dual release of the single-vineyard La Grola and La Poja in 1983, the Allegrinis began a limited move away from the DOC. La Poja sits at the very top of the hill called La Grola. The La Grola vineyard is primarily composed of volcanic soils with a 1,000-foot elevation. La Poja is a bit higher and has a more calcareous makeup. Publicity material for La Grola unabashedly asserts that it is meant to "stand out on the international stage." La Poja stands out as well, given its near-$100 price. Neither is made in the Amarone style; that is, the grapes are handled the way grapes for dry reds are throughout the world. Each is disqualified from the DOC for a different reason: La Grola because it substitutes syrah for molinara; La Poja because it is 100 percent corvina - and the first one from Valpolicella at that.
It's not that the Allegrinis are looking to escape from the DOC. Their Amarone is made the traditional way with grapes sourced from throughout the Classica zone. Their Recioto - "like drinking a top-class young Vintage Port," according to Franco - is as well. They even make nearly 300,000 bottles per year of a reference Valpolicella Classico. Much of that Valpolicella production effort, though, has been refocused on another non-DOC wine, the Palazzo della Torre, named for the vineyard in Fumane where its grapes are sourced. Sharing the same Veronese IGT moniker with La Grola, it is made in the ripasso style and consists of a little sangiovese in place of molinara.
Another family that has felt the tug of internationalism is Fabiano. Headquartered in Negrar, Fabiano owns 203 acres in Classica (and another twelve in nearby Lugana where fresh, light whites are produced). The family got into the winemaking business after having first opened a wine shop in Venice in 1912. Francesco Fabiano and his son Sergio, the founders of both the shop and the resulting wine estate, initially sold wines from Francesco's native Apulia, according to grandson and current chairman and managing director of the firm, Nicola Fabiano, "until the end of the Second World War when they were slowly replaced by wines from the Veneto. The shop operated under our name until the end of the '70s." At which point the modernization process undertaken by Nicola began to bear fruit.
In addition to a ripasso-style Valpolicella, the Fabianos make two Amarones from Classica (Amarone may be made anywhere within the extensive Valpolicella zone, though Amarone from the Classica area is the most common), one named
I Fondatori in tribute to Francesco and Sergio and one that goes through a substantially longer fermentation (60 days as opposed to 30). In addition, to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the firm, they produced a Veronese IGT called Vajo. This is the wine that combines Valpolicella tradition with the outside world. A blend of corvina, cabernet sauvignon and merlot - the corvina is from the Classica zone, the French grapes from "an area close to southern Lake Garda where the Lugana is grown," Fabiano says. (Vajo means narrow, steep valley.)
This Super Veronese is made in the same manner as an Amarone, perhaps contradicting Deborah Cesari's opinion that "French grapes are not suitable for drying. The length is too much for them." But it's not like the Fabianos are as revolutionary as the Allegrinis. They seem satisfied with the allowance in the DOC for grapes other than the big three - it ranges from 5 to 25 percent depending upon which variety is being used - and have no interest in a 100-percent DOC Corvina. Simply put, while the Fabianos do step out of the DOC a bit, they are firm believers in the three primary grapes: "Corvina, molinara and rondinella have to be considered as a whole and not separately. In essence, their joining creates a single product," Fabiano explains.
The "controversy" over the inclusion of French varieties or the bottling of corvina on its own really isn't much of one. This may be one more reason that Amarone and Recioto are not particularly well known here. If it's true that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, there just isn't enough squeaking in Valpolicella. Contrast this scenario with Piedmont and Tuscany, where it seems just about everyone has a loudly held opinion. Even those with French roots don't seem interested in the subject.
The founders of the Negrar-based Montresor estate - holders of a Valpolicella rarity, a monopolio on their Capitel della Crosara vineyard - fled the Touraine in the heart of the Loire Valley in the 18th century after having been involved in a backroom plot to "physically eliminate Cardinal Richelieu," says Elisabetta Fagioli. The family has been making wine in Valpolicella ever since. The standard blend of the big three works fine for them. "Corvina brings the strength, the body, the personality to the wines; rondinella gives perfume and delicacy; and molinara the finesse," according to Fagioli. "We do not believe in including other non-indigenous varieties. We trust the tipicità of our terroir," she says. And at the same time, "We think that corvina alone cannot display the full potential and tipicità of a good Valpolicella and Amarone." Viviani agrees and disagrees: "It would not be correct to allow the inclusion of French varieties, but I think the DOC needs to allow the maximum freedom to the winemakers, and in that respect, I'm for a 100 percent Corvina."
The one subject that does evoke more well-defined opinions among the region's producers concerns the expansion of the original Valpolicella zone with the arrival of the DOC in 1968. Just to the north of Verona lies the Valpantena Valley and farther to the east and stretching to the Soave zone is a collection of valleys referred to as Valpolicella-Est (east) or l'Altra Valpolicella (the other Valpolicella). As a general rule, the soils are not markedly different than those found in the Classica zone, though for the most part the elevations are lower, meaning more marine fossils can be found in the vineyard soils. Some important towns that show up on bottles from Valpantena include: San Felice, Poiano, Santa Maria in Stelle and Marzana. In Valpolicella-Est, the valleys are named Illasi, Mezzane and Squaranto. The main communes include San Martino Buon Albergo, Illasi, Tregnago, Verona, Colognola ai Colli and Mezzane di Sotto.
The majority of the recognizable names of Valpolicella are found in Classica. There is no lack of stars in the expanded area, however. Dal Forno and Trabucchi are found in Illasi; Corte Sant'Alda is located in Mezzone di Sotto where Marinella Camerani has quickly established her 18-year-old estate as a quality rival of any from Classica. Her Amarone has a softness and heft as profound as those sourced from Classica's more hallowed ground. She often presses grapes in small batches so she can extract as much character as possible from her bunches, sometimes allowing appassimento to continue until April. But buyer beware, because Valpantena and Valpolicella-Est have just recently shed their reputations for producing only light-weight wines.
"The enlarged zone has very powerful producers who will work to extend the DOCG [once Classica gets it] here as well," laments San Rustico's Sabrina Campagnola. In fact, according to Franco Allegrini, "The DOCG for Amarone and Recioto has been held up for years because of the lack of agreement between the Classica and enlarged areas. Some producers and politicians in the Classica area unreasonably expect that the new denomination should be reserved exclusively for them."
Allegrini's generosity about the missing "G" doesn't, however, extend to this particular question. "The best vineyard sites are located in the hills of the Valpolicella Classica area," he says authoritatively. Proving that it depends on where one stands, Andrea Sartori, while acknowledging the historical preeminence of Classica, says, "The new frontier is the Mezzane Valley east of Verona. All the usual ingredients are there: altitude, soil, sun exposure and [vineyard technique]. And on top of that, the area is still very underdeveloped and pollution is very low." The Sartoris recently partnered with a cooperative in Valpolicella-Est.
Even though there is a lot going on in the expanded Valpolicella area, the main action is and probably will remain in Classica. While great Amarone and Recioto are fairly easy to come by in the expanded Valpolicella area, it's simply easier to be sure of one's Valpolicella purchase if the label also reads Classico.
Viviani's outstanding Valpolicella Classico Superiore is made in the ripasso style, though the label gives no such hint, making it likely that the uninitiated will be surprised by the added texture and extraction of what is decidedly not a picnic-weight wine. "We made the decision not to label the wine ripasso because ripasso is a method, a kind of process. In my opinion, it's not the method that counts, but the result," he says. His superb Recioto is fermented for a shorter time and spends considerably less time in wood than the Amarone - about one year versus up to 40 months for the Amarone Casa dei Bepi ("our family nickname to distinguish ourselves because there are so many Vivianis living in Mazzano") -- ensuring that its sublime fruit remains its primary asset. Viviani says that the Recioto is "somewhere between Barolo and Port" in style. Due west of Mazzano is the commune of Marano di Valpolicella where Michele Castellani is headquartered. Though rather new to the U.S. -- the wines first arrived here in 2001 -- the firm, now run by founding father Michele's son Sergio, is very well known locally and has been since its inception in 1945.
The centrally located commune of San Pietro in Cariano has numerous fine producers, including Brunelli, a firm that dates only to the 1960s -- its recently introduced Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Campo del Tìtari sports a horse head on the label alluding to the sleek yet full-bodied contents of the bottle. According to Luigi Brunelli, his "Amarone is near to the international style but the tradition of Valpolicella has not been forgotten." Tedeschi, an estate in contrast that dates to the early 19th century, utilizes the almost-forgotten relative of corvina, corvinone, in its regular Amarone (the Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Capitel Monte Olmi is a true reference wine). And there is Tommasi, whose four brothers and their children produce about 50,000 bottles of wine, all of which are full-bodied and soft. While Tommasi does use some new oak, its wood-aging regimen is actually one of the least intensive in all of Valpolicella, ensuring that the wines are impeccably fresh and clean.
In the farthest western reaches of the Classica zone, producers such as Masi ply their trade in Sant'Ambrogio di Valpolicella. A producer since 1772, Masi, through the efforts of the Boscaini family, has continuously been an innovator in the region. In addition to releasing what might be termed the first Super Venetian - the Campofiorin - in 1964, the firm has partnered with the owners of the historic Serègo Alighieri estate, which has been owned and operated by direct descendants of the poet Dante since 1353. Masi reintroduced the ripasso style into the Valpolicella mainstream in the 1950s, and in 1983 began adding whole dried grapes into its ripasso wines rather than just grape skins in order to add fruitiness to the extra body.
The fruit for Sergio Zenato's eponymous luxury cuvée is found in vineyards of Sant'Ambrogio at elevations of up to 980 feet. Though the estate produces a very well-regarded Ripassa [sic] -- "Our winery was one of the first to rediscover this method and revamp it," says Zenato -- and a regular Amarone, it is the special Sergio Zenato, with its hand-lettered label, that consistently garners rave reviews.
From Allegrini to Zenato, the wines of Valpolicella have much to offer consumers. The area may be best known for its simple reds, but the more serious wines are as complex and enjoyable as any in the world.
Tasting Bar
The wines that follow, with the exception of the San Rustico, are widely available. Wines from Dal Forno, Quintarelli and Bussola were not tasted because they are highly allocated and difficult for consumers to buy at retail. The wines were not tasted blind.
Allegrini, 1998 La Poja Monovitigno Corvina Veronese IGT - $93: Ripe, juicy, pronounced scents of black cherry with a whiff of nutmeg. Tooth-coating, youthful flavors of dried cherry, bread dough and redwood need some time to open. Warm, cooked cherry note in the close. Score: 91
Allegrini, 2000 La Grola Veronese IGT - $28: Earthy aromas of plum and cherry compote. Tangy flavors of black fruit and cedar could be a bit more generous. Score: 87
Allegrini, 1999 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico - $80: Tremendous depth of fruit in the nose; bouquet of black currant and black cherry, chocolate, nutmeg, cinnamon and a candied fruit note. Supple despite its youth with the aromas replicated in the mouth (except the candied fruit nuance) and additional flavors of coffee bean along with the presence of alcohol. Very long close shows soothing licorice. Score: 97
Allegrini, Recioto della Valpolicella Classico Giovanni Allegrini - $52 (500-ml): Quite sweet aromas of boysenberry, sugared coffee, pencil lead and the warmth of alcohol. Peppery, syrupy-sweet flavors of cherry and soy sauce have a bit of alcoholic sting. Score: 92
Bertani, 1996 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico - $90: Reserved, floral scents of cherry, dust and cedar. Lean in the mouth with very good balance. Flavors of red cherry, citrus, coffee and bittersweet chocolate sweeten up a bit with airing. Score: 93
Bolla, 2003 Valpolicella - $9: Scents of stewed cherry and dust. Surprisingly hefty flavors of cherry and minerals. Score: 85
Bolla, 1998 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico - $40: Earthy aromas of black cherry and lots of aged balsamic notes. Sturdy flavors of cooked cherry, dried tobacco and graphite. Score: 90
Brunelli, 1999 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Campo del Tìtari - $85: Warm, smoky aromas of macerated cherry, red meat and Worcestershire sauce. Balanced, velvety flavors of dried cherry, black olive and licorice with lots of pepper in the close. Score: 93
Cesari, 1997 Amarone della Valpolicella Bosan - $90: Richly perfumed aromas of black cherry, soy sauce, cinnamon and an alcohol note. Sharp acidity keeps syrupy flavors of cherry and candied fruit beautifully balanced. Luscious texture. Score: 94
Cesari, 1998 Amarone della Valpolicella Il Bosco - $67: Perfectly integrated, very complex aromas of candied cherry, fig, bread dough and mocha. A bit leaner than suggested in the nose, but even more complex with flavors of plum, black cherry, orange peel, espresso, Worcestershire sauce and moist tobacco. A huge wine. Score: 96
Cesari, 2001 Recioto della Valpolicella Classico - $38 (500-ml): Rich, chocolaty aromas of raisin, cinnamon bun dough, black pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Lusciously sweet, warm flavors of black fruit, pepper, aged balsamic and a citrus note that manage to stay balanced without being syrupy. Score: 94
Corte Sant'Alda, 2002 Valpolicella Ca' Fiui - $13: Bright aromas of tart cherry with notes of black tea and nutmeg. Zesty flavors of red cherry and pencil with a cleansing dryness. Score: 90
Corte Sant'Alda, 1996 Amarone della Valpolicella - $82: Beautifully integrated scents of grilled cherry, bread dough and graphite. Lusciously textured flavors of black cherry and balsamic with a perfect sour cherry close. Score: 95
Fabiano, 1998 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico - $37: A great example of the lean style. Aromas of cherry, cedar, smoke and graphite. Bushels of tart red cherry flavors with a correct sourness in the close. Score: 92
Fabiano, 1997 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico I Fondatori - $50: Sweetly smoky aromas of cooked black cherry and allspice with the noticeable warmth of alcohol. Balanced flavors of bitter cherry and oak; finishes quite dry. Score: 90
Fabiano, 2000 Vajo Rosso del Veronese IGT - $52: Warm aromas of plum, cherry syrup, cookie dough and cinnamon. Amarone-style flavors of dried red cherry, licorice, earth and pencil lead. Score: 92
Masi, 2001 Campofiorin Ripasso Rosso del Veronese IGT - $16: Pure black cherry through and through. Earthy scents of ripe black cherry; warm, lush flavors of crushed black cherry. Score: 93
Masi, 1998 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Serégo Alighieri - $65: Sweet, Recioto-like aromas of black cherry, bread dough and graphite. Impeccably balanced flavors of cherry pit and aged balsamic; pleasingly dry close. Score: 94
Michele Castellani, 1998 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Cinque Stelle - $75: Fresh red cherry aromas mixed with scents of cinnamon and bread dough warmed a bit by its alcohol. Tightly wrapped flavors of cooked cherry and lusciously sweet, aged balsamic. Score: 94
Michele Castellani, 1998 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico i Castei Campo Casalin - $85: A twinge of alcohol marks aromas of black currant, nutmeg, vanilla and mocha. Extracted flavors of macerated cherry, bread dough and black pepper. Lively red cherry note in the finish. Score: 91
Michele Castellani, 1999 Recioto della Valpolicella Classico Il Casale - $27 (500-ml): Warm aromas of cherries jubilee, milk chocolate, soy sauce and a tobacco note. Balanced, sweet flavors of stewed plum, black cherry and sugared espresso. Score: 93
Montresor, 1997 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Capitel della Crosara - $66: Copious black fruit aromas with notes of balsamic, baking spice and vanilla. Bushels of warm cherry flavors complemented by an earthy minerality. Score: 94
San Rustico, 1998 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Gli Occhi Blu di Sabrina - $64: Initial burst of warm Worcestershire sauce and earth aromas; with airing, scents of black cherry, rum cake and bread dough emerge. Perfect balance showcases flavors of cherry pit and graphite. An intriguing bitterness marks the lingering finish. Score: 96
Santi, 2002 Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripasso Solane - $12: Lean, red fruit aromas. Flavors of cooked cherry, raspberry, cedar and herbs. Score: 88
Sartori, 2000 Valpolicella Classico Superiore Vigneti di Montegradella - $12: Vibrant, smoky aromas of black cherry, earth and peppery cedar. Offers well-structured flavors beyond its price of plum, black earth, graphite and citrus. Score: 92
Sartori, 1998 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Corte Brà - $40: Slight sting of alcohol with otherwise pleasing scents of black cherry, black pepper and minerals. Lean black fruit and espresso flavors. Score: 88
Sartori, 2000 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico - $33: Concentrated aromas of dried cherry and balsamic with a candied nuance. A fresh mouthful of black cherry, olive and soy sauce. Score: 91
Speri, 1998 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Vigneto Monte Sant'Urbano - $55: Earthy scents of stewed cherry and smoke with a nice floral note. Warm, balanced flavors of tart cherry-strawberry and mocha are a bit on the lean side. Score: 92
Speri, 2001 Valpolicella Classico Superiore Vigneto Sant'Urbano - $25: Big aromas of dried red cherry and smoke jump from the glass. Representative of the tart style with flavors of dried cherry, dust and lots of cedar. Score: 88
Tedeschi, 1999 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Capitel Monte Olmi - $70: Big, spicy, warm aromas of smoky black cherry and bread dough are beautifully integrated. Flavors of black cherry, olive and cedar are in between the extracted and lean style; zesty red cherry in the close. Score: 94
Tedeschi, 2000 Recioto della Valpolicella Classico Capitel Monte Fontana - $50 (500-ml): Warm scents of black plum, graphite and bread dough. Soft, balanced, sweet flavors of black fruit, minerals, black pepper and sugared coffee. Score: 93
Tommasi, 2001 Valpolicella Classico Superiore Vigneto Rafael - $14: Not the picnic style. Aromas of smoky black cherry, cinnamon and cedar. Lots of cherry in the mouth - cooked and dried - juicy and concentrated with a sweet-tart close. Score: 90
Tommasi, 1997 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Ca' Florian - $53: Richly warm and dusty scents of red cherry and cinnamon. Spicy flavors of sweet-tart red cherry, mocha and nutmeg have a velvety texture. Score: 94
Trabucchi, 1999 Amarone della Valpolicella - $60: A concentrated note of aged balsamic leads to tart red cherry scents. Illasi's telltale acidity is apparent in flavors of just-picked cherry and earth. A raisiny nuance emerges as it warms. Score: 94
Viviani, 1999 Valpolicella Classico Superiore - $22: The epitome of Valpo's fruity style. Big aromas of dried black cherry and cinnamon; vivacious flavors of black cherry and cedar finish dry. Score: 91
Viviani, 1996 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, l'Amarone della Casa dei Bepi - $73: Floral, very ripe aromas of black cherry, bread dough, black pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Perfectly integrated flavors of dried black cherry, espresso, soy sauce, nutmeg and pencil. Score: 94
Viviani, 2000 Recioto della Valpolicella Classico - $69 (500-ml): Beautifully under control in a style that often isn't. A cherries-jubilee alcohol scent opens to dried black cherry and bittersweet chocolate. Juicy, perfectly balanced flavors of cooked cherry, cinnamon and the barest note of sweetness. Score: 96
Zenato, 1998 Amarone Classico della Valpolicella Sergio Zenato - $130: Beautifully perfumed, room-filling aromas of dried cherry, graphite and nutmeg. Plush, tangy and warm in the mouth with flavors highlighted by chocolate-covered cherry. A great mix of sweet-tart fruit with a long finish. Score: 96
Zenato, 2001 Valpolicella Superiore Ripassa - $25: Dusty, complex aromas of red cherry and cinnamon. A burst of just-picked strawberry and red cherry makes for a juicy, balanced mouthful. Score: 90
Zeni, 2001 Valpolicella Classico Vigne Alte - $9: Huge aromas of black cherry and bread dough. Sweet-tart flavors of dried cherry and cedar conclude on a pleasant sour cherry note. Score: 90
Zeni, 1995 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Vigne Alte - $36: Concentrated, warm, perfumed aromas of black cherry, nutmeg and a whiff of smoked meat. Tingly acidity delivers bright flavors of cherry, strawberry and walnut. Sweet close. Score: 93
Todd M. Wernstrom is the executive editor.
