Amarone: the veronese red wine that ages with style

Amarone is certainly the most famous Veronese wine in the world. We have dedicated an entire article to the very ancient origins of this great red wine Amarone: the grapes that give a nectar of excellence.

It is the process of winemaking that makes this wine unique. The drying of grapes is its heart. During the time the grapes rest in the fruttaio, the drying loft, many changes take place, the most striking and visible being the loss of 40% of its weight in water, which makes the berries soft and wrinkled, just like raisin. But the most profound changes take place inside the berry, as progressive dehydration causes molecules to combine in different ways, giving rise to new aromatic precursors that will form scents and flavours that are not present in fresh grapes.

The grape drying process to produce Amarone is very long and delicate and it is essential that it takes place as slowly as possible. This of course depends on the weather in the autumn and winter months. At our estate, the bunches of grapes are arranged on large bamboo boards and the drying process takes place naturally, taking advantage of the air currents and regulating the temperature of the environment by opening and closing the windows in the room.

As we have seen, the climate has a very important effect on the drying process, but in the production of Amarone, as well as for any other wine, the greatest influence is due to the weather conditions of the vintage, from the budding to the time of grape harvest.

Nature never repeats itself in the same way, each vintage has its own peculiarities. Let ‘s take a closer look at how the climate directly influences the ripening of the grapes.

In cold and rainy years, the vines receive a lot of water, but unfortunately little light. Solar radiation is a very important element in grape ripening, because the vine, like any plant, is only able to accumulate sugars in its fruit through chlorophyll photosynthesis. It goes without saying, then, that during a very rainy year, the fruit struggles to complete its ripening, not only in terms of the sugar and acid accumulation (so-called technological ripeness), but in the level of concentration of aromatic and colouring substances and tannin. A striking case in the last 10 years is the vintage of 2014, in which rainfall was incessant throughout the whole summer. In this year, we decided not to produce neither Amarone nor Recioto. It was a painful choice, but one consistent with our production philosophy and above all with the respect we have for these two great wines.

What happens instead in hot years? In this case, the greatest risk the vineyard may face is not so much, or not only, the absence of rainwater, but above all the high temperature and the small change in temperature between day and night. When the temperature is too high for too many days, the vines become stressed and the photosynthesis process is interrupted. The risk is once again that of not achieving a good level of ripeness in the grapes, as well as the risk of developing unpleasant and tired flavours in the grapes. A vintage that is remembered in the annals for being very hot is the 2003.

Luckily, most vintages, while showing a tendency towards warmer or colder weather, are characterised by a good balance between rain and sunshine, with limited peaks of very high or very low temperatures, giving the grapes the opportunity to ripen properly.
In the vineyard, we try to go along with the vintage by constantly working on the management of the foliage of the vines, which in our vineyards have been planted with guyot vines since 1883. Our experience in foliage management allows us to provide more or less shade, depending on the needs of the grapes.

Another important consideration concerns the time that is chosen to harvest the different grape varieties. A slightly early harvest in a hot year allows to preserve a certain degree of acidity in the grapes, while in the case of a rainy year moving the harvest time forward may give the grapes a chance to reach a better stage of ripeness.

Lastly, since the wines of Valpolicella, Amarone included, are the result of a blend of different varieties that bring their own specific identity, in each vintage the blend is slightly modified, in order to obtain a wine that, while following the vintage trend, is the best expression of the personality of our estate.

The production of a good Amarone, as we have seen, begins in the vineyard. It takes a lot of experience to be able to interpret the different vintages in the best possible way over time. Gaetano Bertani has passed on to his heirs all the savoir-faire he acquired during a lifetime dedicated to taking Valpolicella and Amarone to the highest levels. This has enabled us to build a database that is essential for understanding the actions to be taken in the vineyard and in the cellar to support our grapes during their ripening process.

The first vintage we bottled under the name Tenuta Santa Maria di Gaetano Bertani was 2004. We remember it as a very balanced vintage, with mild temperatures in spring, followed by a bright and hot summer, but characterised by very good day-night temperature ranges. This allowed the grapes to ripen gradually and steadily. Today, twenty years later, the climatic balance enjoyed by our grapes is revealed in a sip in which the fruity notes are still intact, supported by a freshness that is still alive and accompanies very well the more evolved and warm, spicy and rounded hints. Over time, the pepper sensations, typical of youth, softened, shifting to hints of tobacco, cloves and cocoa powder. The evolution of Amarone in the bottle can reveal fascinating surprises!

The 2013 vintage, on the other hand, saw a cold spring with a lot of rainfall, which slowed down the development of the plant. Summer brought its warmth and light, while maintaining a good temperature range between day and night. This is a very important element in creating wide and varied aromas in wine. In fact, our Amarone della Valpolicella Riserva 2013 offers a very multifaceted nose, which plays between the balsamic sensations of mint and eucalyptus, the fruity ones of blackberry and blueberry, and the enveloping sensations of sandalwood. The palate follows the nose in a soaring, vibrant and juicy dimension. The taste tension of this wine promises a long life ahead of it.

Totally different was the 2015 vintage, characterised by very high temperatures and little rainfall. In this year, dominated by warm weather and sunshine, we worked very carefully in the countryside, managing the vine canopy in such a way as to protect the grapes from sunburn. Our efforts paid off and we were able to bring grapes of great quality and great ripeness to the winery, which can also be found in the glass today. To the nose, the wine is rich in fleshy and fruity scents, and spicy sensations, also sweet, reminiscent of pipe tobacco. The palate is expansive and evolved, but supported by good sapidity and acidity that have allowed the Amarone 2015 to evolve well to date and offer good prospects for future development.

The following year, 2016, was a real challenge. The winter was not very cold and therefore the bud break came early. The spring months, the first months of shoot life, were dominated by rain, and we had to wait until the end of May to see the small vine flowers, from which the grapes spring. In rainy years, such as 2016, the attention in the countryside is very high, and phytoiatric actions must be punctual and constant to ensure the health of the grapes. We really worked hard, but the grapes we harvested were of great quality and perfectly ripe, making 2016 a vintage to remember also for the quality of the wines we managed to obtain.

The 2016 Amarone offers an explosion of scents ranging from small, juicy dark fruits, such as blueberry, to broader, sweeter notes, such as plum and sweet spices. The sip has great personality, is austere and elegant, with a long balsamic trail of liquorice and mint and a dynamic, captivating sip. Due to its characteristics, this wine will evolve very slowly, maintaining its backbone for many years to come.

Mild and sunny weather characterized the 2018 vintage, with a good alternation of cool nights and sunny days, in which the temperature was often above average. The grapes quickly reached full ripeness. The lightness of this vintage can be found in the glass in the warm hints of ripe fruit, spicy notes of liquorice and carob, and peppery memories. It is a powerful wine, whose roundness is well supported by good acidity and silky tannins. The Amarone 2018 is a cosy, jovial wine and will keep its strong character for a long time.

The different vintages, as we have seen, have given us grapes of various qualities, with different levels of ripeness and specific characteristics. We believe that this diversity is a wealth and should mirror the variability of Nature, often kind, sometimes fickle and sometimes even stingy. Our Amarone wines, since the first one bottled in 2004, have been aged for at least 60 months in large Slavonian oak barrels. For us, wood is a means to help the wine refine its distinctive qualities, without overpowering the quality of the raw material. For this we use large barrels where we leave the wine to age for five years.

If the Amarone we uncork has many years on its shoulders, we must expect an evolution, both organoleptically and in terms of appearance, because in the long time spent inside the bottle the wine has experienced a very small, but constant, exchange of oxygen with the outside through the cork.

Open a bottle of an old vintage has a special charm. If the Amarone is very old (20 years or more), it is quite likely that the polymers, the substances that give the wine its colour, will combine over time, precipitating downwards and forming what is known as the ‘dregs’. The wine dregs is not a negative factor, but a normal physical evolution of the wine. When pouring the wine, just be careful not to rotate the bottle too much so that the dregs does not fall into the glass, or alternatively you can use a decanter.

Due to the decay of polymers, the colour of an old Amarone tends to be less dense and shift towards a brick shade, but, if well preserved, remains brilliant.
The aromas also evolve a lot during the time spent in the bottle. As a result of the micro-oxygenation, which occurs through the cork, the soft and tasty fruit notes will become darker and will tend to shift from cherry to plum, in the form of jam. Floral memories will move from red rose and violet to dried petals in potpourri, and the same will happen to balsamic memories, which will turn from fresh mint to musk, resin and sometimes even mushroom.
The taste will also be modified, as the tannins will be much smoother and softer with time, the spicy notes will be more and more integrated in the sip, and the same will happen to the alcoholic sensation, but if the wine has been well preserved, its acidity will have remained untouched. The result will be an iridescent, silky and extremely fascinating sip, which may have lost the vibrant backbone of its youth, but will have gained authority and style.

If the vintage has a great influence on the character of the wine, the way it is stored after bottling is equally important. It is crucial that the bottles are placed in a suitable place in order for the wine to remain undamaged.

There are two aspects to consider when it comes to wine storage: light and temperature. Light filters through the glass of the bottle, deteriorating the bonds between molecules within the wine. Similarly, too high temperature ends up spoiling the wine over time. The effect of poor bottle storage can be seen both on the color of the wine, which becomes dull and faded, and on the taste-olfactory sensations, with unpleasant oxidative and tired sensations.

That is why bottles have always been stored in the cellar. The cellars are dark, and are always cool, both in summer and winter, keeping the wine at an almost constant temperature. They are also generally humid places, and the wet environment benefits the wine by preventing the cork from becoming dry. When the cork dries out, it loses elasticity and could therefore let in more oxygen into the wine than required, which could oxidize the wine.

At Tenuta Santa Maria di Gaetano Bertani, the bottles are stored in a special underground room, in total absence of light, at controlled temperature and humidity. On the other hand, it would be nonsense, after all the work done in the countryside and in the cellar to obtain a great quality wine, let it spoil because of a bad storage.

In this regard, we think it is fair to advise you to buy wine only from sellers who can guarantee that they have stored it properly, especially if they are old vintages that have already spent several years inside the bottle. It is not always possible to have this security when buying wine online.

As for serving the wine, we recommend serving Amarone at a temperature between 18 and 20 degrees and opening the bottle in time to allow the wine to “breathe” by coming into contact with oxygen gradually. It would be wise to open the bottle at least 1 hour before serving.