Tenuta Santa Maria Amarone Classico Riserva

About

Official documents from as early as the mid-1500s attest to the Bertani family heritage in the Valpolicella region. At the start of the last half of the 1800s, brothers Gaetano & Giovanni Battista Bertani set out to establish a new benchmark for excellence in their craft. Combining their deep respect for tradition and love of the land with commercial savvy and innovative drive in both the areas of production and cultivation, the brothers Bertani built an enterprise unique to the Veneto of their epoch. With a forward-looking spirit, they introduced revolutionary vine growing techniques developed by agronomist Jules Guyot, techniques to which Gaetano Bertani had been exposed during his years of political exile in France for his active role in the Italian Unification Movement against the Austrian Empire. The brothers Bertani became the first in the region to bottle and sell Veronese wines, such as Valpolicella Ripasso, Recioto and Soave on a larger scale. They steadily expanded their market to Great Britain, Germany and the United States, winning recognition through winemaking competitions, both national and international.

Today, Gaetano Bertani, great-grandson of founding brother Gaetano, and his sons, Giovanni and Guglielmo, maintain the family tradition and philosophy. Now in its sixth generation, the Bertani enterprise continues in the tradition of one of the oldest winemaking families in Italy, with a firmly-established history of excellence and the expertise born of a tireless endeavor to blend passion and skill with the power of the past.

Tenuta Santa Maria Amarone Classico Riserva 75% Corvina, 10% Rondinella and 15% Corvinone, all from the Tenuta Santa Maria, a 20-hectare belted clos in Negrar. The grapes are hand harvested left to dry for 4/5 months. In January after losing 25%/30% of their weight, the raisin-like grapes are pressed and fermented for 25/30 days at controlled temperatures with daily pumping over. After 48 months of aging in large cask and tonneaux the wine is bottled. Rested 6 months in bottle before release. 2000 cases produced annually.

From the Bertani family, who invented Amarone, this single vineyard Amarone is rich in flavor and history. Full bodied with complex blue and black fruit flavors, balanced by earthy nuances and spice notes. Try with a rich meal like Ossobuco, Sunday pasta or a porterhouse!