Bertani

Bertani produces the full range of Veronese wines. Wines include Valpolicella, Bardolino and Soave (all Classico Superiore) DOC, as well as Valpolicella Valpantena Secco Bertani and sparkling Recioto; IGT white Le Lave (Garangega and Chardonnay) and Catullo Rosso (Cabernet and Corvina). However its Amarone which is without a doubt the most special wine of the estate. It is the greatest example of traditional styled Amarone available in market and a must have in any serious Italian wine collector’s cellar. These are wines crafted with pain staking patience often cellared for 10+ years in large casks (“Botte”) made from traditional woods. The result; Bertani list 14 vintages of Amarone dating from 1990 (the lasts in commerce) back to 1962 Wine maker Paolo Grigolli explains that Amarone can be made only from choice vintages: success depends not only on fine weather during the season but also on the requisite cold, dry conditions for drying later. The concentrated grapes are fermented into wine that goes into oak casks for at least seven years, from some vintages even longer. (A batch of the original 1959 vintage was in wood for 27 years before bottling in 1987.) Grigolli explains that the wine in cask re-ferments each spring as part of the residual sugar is converted to alcohol and glycerin. This annual revival gives Amarone its opulence of color, bouquet and flavor and the capacity to maintain attributes over time as perhaps no other natural (as distinguished from fortified) red wine. Yet ultimate aging potential isn’t known, since early vintages are still vital.