Premium Sale | Amarone

Three vineyards, one name: Calcarole, Pojega and Rovereti – the cru centres of the Guerrieri Rizzardi estate in the heart of Negrar. In the centuries-old fruttai of Pojega, the hand-picked grapes dry for three to five months, without any technical control, following the rhythm of the seasons alone. The result is an Amarone of warm-hearted generosity that only 2019 could give: A cool spring slowed down the yields, while a long, consistently warm autumn drove ripening into the depths.

Not the Classico, not Novare: Valpantena is the real cradle of Bertani. It was here, in Grezzana at the foot of the Lessini, that Giovan Battista and Gaetano Bertani founded their winery in 1857. What Gaetano brought with him from his exile in France – he had learnt from Jules Guyot, the pioneer of modern viticulture –revolutionised viticulture throughout Valpolicella. Today, Valpantena is the only sub-zone in the entire region to be officially recognised as a cru: a pre-alpine valley with ferruginous marl and clay-limestone marl soils which, thanks to its direct connection to the Lessini chain, ensures marked temperature fluctuations between day and night. Corvina Veronese and Rondinella are hand-picked and left to dry for 120 days in single-layer boxes in the historic Fruttai. Fermentation begins at just 4–5°C and slowly rises to 22°C – a gentle process that preserves fruit and builds depth.

Tenuta Missoj is a small vineyard in Mizzole with just 3.5 hectares of vines and is owned by the Campagnola family. The vineyards extend at an altitude of 200 metres on a well-ventilated and exposed hill where the grapes can reach perfect and complete ripeness. The grapes for this Amarone Riserva come from single vineyards and the wine is aged for 24 months in new barriques made of Fleur de Quintessence oak in medium to lightly toasted Allier oak with very fine grain. Further ageing of the wine takes place in the bottle for another 12 months.