The solution thus far – Valpolicella Classico Superiore (or Valpolicella Superiore outside the Classico zone) – has great promise, but some consider it far too accommodating of stylistic variations. Not to dwell here too long since it isn’t the subject of this Report, the category feels designed to allow winemakers to maximise quality according to their own judgment, permitting substantial latitude in blending (up to 15% international grapes) as well as the use of dried grapes, semi-dried grapes, only fresh grapes, or any variation on the above. Top examples (Tommaso Bussola’s wines, Bertani’s Ognisanti and Tommasi’s De Buris) radiate class.

Amarone, meanwhile, remains a wine – virtually unique within the wine world – that must be made from fully dried grapes vinified to technical dryness (with up to 9g/L of residual sugar allowed, but incrementally more as alcohol rises above 14%). In a warming climate and cultural environment ever more opposed to both alcohol and sugar, this is a challenging proposition. The wine world’s obsessions with site-specificity and varietal wines are further challenges for Amarone, which is fundamentally a wine of process made from a (legally mandated) blend of grapes.

However, Champagne is another wine of process typically blended from several varieties, which hasn’t stopped it from being one of fine wine’s juggernauts in recent years. Its greater embrace of single sites has helped, a strategy many Amarone producers have adopted. Major players like Allegrini, Tedeschi, Tommasi and Masi, as well as smaller-scale producers like Tommaso Bussola and Massimago, have all emphasised single-vineyard bottlings, often from especially high-altitude sites (Tedeschi’s La Fabriseria, Allegrini’s Fieramonte or Masi’s Mazzano), a boon in a warming climate.

Attempts to introduce a ‘cru’ system to Valpolicella, especially for Amarone production, have been tentative. Arguably the region has enough on its plate trying to balance between those who want to prioritise the Classico (or ‘Classica’) zone – comprised of Sant’Ambrogio, Fumane, Marano, Negrar and San Pietro in Cariano communes at the western end of the DOCG – and those who want a more prominent role for Valpantena (already an official subzone) and Eastern Valpolicella (standouts are the Mezzane Valley and Illasi Valley, home of Dal Forno, sadly unavailable for a visit during my stay). However, in recognition of substantial differences in topography, geology (volcanic or calcareous sedimentary) and climate (driven largely by proximity to Lake Garda in the Classico zone), I have made extensive reference to specific locations of wineries and their vineyards in the report and will cover the nuances in greater detail in a future article.

For the time being, producer style remains a major consideration (possibly the most critical), and there has been some interesting evolution. While as little as a decade ago styles had become quite monolithic (generally dark and big), this tasting included many red-fruited, primary styles bearing more resemblance to fresh grape wines, from Bertani, Corte Sant’Alda and Sartori.

A system I found instructive during the tasting involved two stylistic axes: red vs purple and fresh vs oxidative. Though the factors involved are too numerous to detail here, red vs purple is substantially driven by grape variety, with more Corvina and the (sadly) uncommon Molinara favouring redness; and Corvinone, Rondinella and especially the tiny-berried Oseleta leaning purple. The use of shorter (or more protective) appassimento, maceration and maturation supports freshness (Speri and Allegrini’s wines are exemplary). The opposite, along with botrytis in appassimento or cherry wood maturation casks, leads to more oxidative traits (e.g. Serego Aleghieri’s Vaio Armaron). Though my personal taste leans redder and fresher, I feel that wines of style like Amarone necessarily accommodate many permutations; I will admit, I struggle with some red-fruited but very oxidative wines, which often seem to have aimed at freshness and missed the mark, Vaio Armaron being a notable exception.

Finally, vintages: a challenge with this report versus others in this series was that release times for Amarone and particularly Riserva are quite varied, with the release of wines 8-10 years after harvest not terribly uncommon (the foundational Bertani Amarone used to age in botti for decades). As a result, there is a large range of vintages here making it challenging to draw broad conclusions. As a general matter, the 2019s, 2016s, 2015s and 2012s are fuller, more potent and structured than the 2018s and 2017s (no wines from rain-soaked 2014 were presented). Many of the 2013s are reaching a beautiful point of maturity, showing finesse and acidic verve, while the handful of 2011s in the lineup were generally a little weightier and less bright. Arguably, vintage is obscured to a certain degree anyway by the myriad stylistic factors, but that is perhaps part of the point — Amarone will always be a wine crafted by people for maximum enjoyment, and fortunately (as will be clear from the number of high-scoring wines) there was much of it to be had here.

Tasting notes and scores from Club Oenologique’s Amarone della Valpolicella Report 2023 (featuring only those wines scoring 90 points and above) are available to all registered users of The Collection, the online home of our premium wine and spirits content. To register for free, click here.