Bertani Amarone della Valpolicella Valpantena 2014 Valpantena, Veneto, Italy 75cl

Bertani has been a defining name in Valpolicella since 1857, and few producers are as closely tied to the story of Amarone. This bottling comes from the Valpantena, a valley just east of the classico heartland that lends Bertani’s wines poise alongside their power.

Amarone is made by the appassimento method, and that is where this wine’s character begins. Hand-selected Corvina and Rondinella grapes, roughly 80% and 20%, are laid out to dry on bamboo racks in the estate’s lofts for several months, shrivelling to raisins and concentrating their sugar, colour and flavour before a long, slow fermentation right through to a dry finish.

The 2014 was a cooler, wetter growing season across the Veneto, and the drying process becomes especially valuable in a year like this, rewarding careful grape selection and patience in the fruttai. The reward is an Amarone with real depth but a fresh line running through it, rather than sheer weight.

Expect a deep garnet glass and a powerful nose of black cherry, dried plum, sweet spice and tobacco leaf, with a hint of chocolate. The palate is full-bodied, warming and dry, its ripe fruit framed by soft tannins and a long finish. At 15.5% it is a wine to sip slowly, ideally decanted an hour ahead and served in a large glass.

This is a fireside red, made for braised beef, venison, rich stews or a wedge of mature hard cheese. It has the structure to reward a few more years in the cellar, though it drinks beautifully now. If you enjoy powerful, brooding reds such as Barolo or a serious Ripasso, Amarone is a natural companion, and Bertani is one of the safest introductions to the style.