Besides Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare, Verona and Veneto are the cradle of one of the most beautiful red wines on the planet: amarone.
It is above all an original wine, concocted with grapes that are left to dry between 3 and 4 months on large trellises – method known as appassimento in Italian. This allows them to lose up to 40% water. This process also helps to concentrate the sugars in the grapes, which obviously increases the alcohol potential and explains why amarone usually has between 16% and 17% alcohol.
Two grape varieties are required: Corvina, which, with its thick skin, brings acidity and retains the freshness of the fruit, and Rondinella, which brings roundness. After maturing for several months in barrels, the result is a very colorful, dense and creamy red, which sometimes shows firm tannins, a certain bitterness on the finish, the whole being carried by a sometimes surprising freshness.
Given their method of manufacture (it takes 3 kg of fresh grapes to make a bottle), the prices charged are high. On the other hand, they have great aging potential, although I usually prefer them when young. Note that it is possible to experience the “taste” of amarone by falling back on the ripasso (which means “ironed” in Italian). Less expensive, it is a wine in which the grape juice in fermentation is “ironed” over a pomace of dried grapes, most often amarone, which provides structure and richness.
This week we had the chance to taste the wines of the Brigaldara estate with Antonio Cesari. It was his father, Stefano, who, in the early 1980s, decided to consolidate the family estate. Together with Roberto Ferrarini, famous oenologist who has notably worked at the legendary Quintarelli estate, he will raise the quality of the estate’s wines. The level reached today commands admiration. You just have to find out. Amarones of princely elegance, completely dry and with an impressive complexity. You will find below my impressions of the wines tasted.
Drink less. Drink better.
Brigaldara, Valpolicella 2020 $ 18.85 – Code SAQ 14320523 – 13% – 2.5 g / L
A “valpo” as we would like to drink every day. It is light while showing a certain body. To drink chilled.
★★ 1⁄2 $$
Brigaldara, Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso 2018 $ 22.10 – Code SAQ 14477977 – 14.5% – 4.6 g / L
We get to the heart of the matter. A sappy, full and generous red. Tones of pot pourri, black cherry and garrigue. Long and caressing. The 2013 tasted confirms the seriousness of the wine, all offered at friendly prices.
★★★ $$
Brigaldara, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2016 $ 56.75 – Code SAQ 12950433 – 16.5% – 3 g / L
A great example to understand what a good amarone should be: powerful, elegant, tasty and structured. The ripe and enveloping fruitiness goes wonderfully well with the noble bitters which mark the long finish. Serious and accessible, it deserves good ventilation to fully reveal itself.
★★★★ $$$$
Brigaldara, Amarone della Valpolicella Casa Vecie 2015 $ 73.25 – Code SAQ 13057647 – 16.5% – 3 g / L
A plot located at an altitude of 500 meters. My colleague Jean Aubry, at To have to, evoked the great zinfandels of Helen Turley or the famous Jackass Hill Zin cuvée by Martinelli, with added freshness. He is absolutely right. I would add a clean identity with racy tannins, magnificent bitters and a long afterglow on tones of dried flower, black cherry, balsamic and spices. Perfectly on point, while being from a fresher vintage. The 2008 tasted side by side confirmed that a cellaring period of 10 to 15 years is ideal for fully capturing the magic of amarone.
★★★★ 1⁄2 $$$$$
Legend
★ Correct
★★ Good
★★★ Very good
★★★★ Excellent
★★★★★ Exceptional
More stars than dollars: it’s well worth the price.
As many stars as dollars: it’s worth the price.
Fewer stars than dollars: it’s expensive.