Amarone production begins in the vineyard, where Pergola and Guyot-trained vines are carefully managed to produce flawless bunches of fruit. Only the best fruit, strictly selected to eliminate damaged bunches, is used. That fruit rests for around 120 days in a drying room, humidity-controlled room to avoid botrytis. In January, months after harvest, the concentrated fruit is vinified over 15 days. Brigaldara’s goal is to produce Amarone with body, freshness, and drinkability upon release, with no oxidation. Their wine is a departure from old-style Amarone made from dried, often botrytized, fruit fermented over a 40-day period. It spent one year in barriques, then two years in large 25 hectolitre oak vessels prior to bottling.

A Corvinone-dominant blend featuring Corvina and Rondinella, this is a sumptuous Amarone with a spicy, perfumed bouquet of black cherry and vanilla. The palate reveals a ripe core of bitter chocolate and spiced fruit cake, with complex flavours of Mirabelle plum and coffee. An attractive note of black tea persists through the finish. Alcohol, often a determining quality for Amarone-lovers, is nicely balanced by the wine’s density and velvety texture. It’s a powerful wine, yet elegant and graceful.

“This is a very good wine. The Amarone extract serves to absorb the wood nicely, creating a fine structure. Pithy red cherries, tangerines, sandalwood and wood smoke. So fresh in the context of so many plodding wines. The impact of sweetness and alcohol is thwarted by the confluence of oak and deftly extracted grape tannins, leading to a long, savory finish. Fine tannins. This is Amarone that one can actually drink. Sustainable. Drinkable now, but best from 2028.”
94 points, James Suckling, March 2024

“The 2019 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico is intense, with a savory bouquet that mixes cherry and plum sauce with grilled herbs, hints of camphor and crushed stone. Opulent through its vividly ripe fruit yet expertly balanced by zesty acidity, the 2019 races across the palate with sleek textural waves, leaving a tinge of balsamic spice and saline mineral tones in its wake. This finishes with tremendous length and a pleasant bitterness that puckers the cheeks. Fine-grained tannins add a crunchy sensation. This is simply fantastic and comes in at just 1.8 grams of residual sugar.”
95 points, Eric Guido, Vinous Media, December 2023