Tommasi Amarone Della Valpolicella DOCG Classico 2018, Veneto, Italy

This Amarone is produced from 5 Valpolicella grape varieties (Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, Molinara and Oseleta), which are cultivated high on hillside terraces. The modern guyot high density method of training the vines is used, and only the best and most mature clusters are selected for Amarone. The grapes are placed directly onto small open racks and brought to an open sided building where they are dried by the cool breezes of autumn and winter until the following January. During these months, the grapes are reduced in a period of “active lethargy”. The grapes appear dormant, but within them there are changes taking place that enrich them, giving them new aromas and a deep full flavor, losing about 50% of weight, and concentrating the level of natural sugar. After fermentation, the wine then undergoes a period of aging of at least 2 years in oak barrels before being placed in bottles, where the wine will age at least another year. Tasting Notes: Deep ruby red color with garnet shades. Warm, ripe on the nose, intense and of great refinement. The taste is complex, smooth, full bodied, lots of cherry notes and plum.