Valpolicella
Benedetti La Villa and the Roman Mosaic Beneath Its Vineyards in Negrar
Archaeologists found an extensive Roman villa from the third century under the vineyards of Benedetti La Villa in Negrar di Valpolicella, with mosaic floors across a large residential and working complex. It is direct evidence that wine was being made on these slopes almost two thousand years ago.
Valpolicella Land: Zones, Valleys, and Terroir
Valpolicella is one denomination but not one place. It runs as a strip of hills north of Verona, between Lake Garda and the Lessini mountains, cut into valleys that each ripen differently. Classico covers the five western valleys, Valpantena the one east of them, and the wider DOC everything further east again.
The Valpolicella End of Year Report 2024
The Valpolicella year in 2024: which vintages were released, what the critics scored highest, how the harvest went and what shifted in the region. Written from the shop in Venice at the end of the year, where most of what the valley makes crosses the counter.
Amarone Bertani 2015 – James Suckling’s Wine of the Year 2024
James Suckling named Bertani Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2015 his Wine of the Year for 2024, scoring it 100 points. Bertani has made Amarone since 1857, ages it in large Slavonian oak and releases it many years late. The 2015 was one of the two best vintages of the century.
Giuseppe Quintarelli
Giuseppe Quintarelli is the benchmark of traditional Amarone. Long drying, wild yeast, years in large Slavonian casks, released when the wine is ready rather than when the law allows, with handwritten labels. He died in 2012 and the estate continues in the same way under his family.
The best Amarone of 2023? We consult the critics
The critics who matter for Amarone are Gambero Rosso with its Tre Bicchieri, Bibenda with its 5 Grappoli, James Suckling, Wine Spectator and Decanter. They rarely agree. This gathers what each of them rated highest in 2023 and says where the overlap is.
Wine, Food, Science and Valpolicella – In Depth
Wine and food work together through acidity, tannin, fat, salt and sugar. Acidity cuts fat, tannin binds to protein, sweetness must outrun the dish or it tastes sour. This applies that to the Valpolicella wines and explains why Amarone wants braised meat and aged cheese.
Romano dal Forno
Romano Dal Forno remade what Amarone could be: yields cut to almost nothing, grapes dried in temperature controlled lofts, long ageing in new French barriques, and a wine of extraordinary density that needs a decade before it opens. He is the modern pole of the valley, opposite Quintarelli.
An in depth look at Valpolicella Ripasso
Ripasso is a Valpolicella that is fermented a second time on the skins left over from pressing Amarone. It picks up colour, alcohol and dried fruit depth, landing around 13 to 14.5%, while keeping the freshness of the base wine. It is its own method, not a cheap Amarone.
A visit to Le Ragose
Le Ragose sits high above Negrar, one of the first estates to plant at that altitude, now in its third generation with Marta Galli. They make traditional Amarone in large Slavonian oak, and keep old vintages back. We went up to taste with them and this is what they said.
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