Amarone della Valpolicella 2016: A first look

We could all use some good news these days. For Amarone afficionados and Valpolicella producers at least, the 2016 vintage should provide plenty to revel in.

In the context of recent vintages, 2016 was a relative relief for growers: they were spared the extremes of wet and cold versus drought and heat felt in 2014 and 2017 respectively. ‘Temperatures weren’t too excessive, we had normal rainfall and a fresh summer,’ sums up winemaker Andrea Lavagnoli. But abundant spring rains presented the greatest challenge and growers had to be very vigilant with their treatments to ward off the spread of Peronospora.

After slightly below-average temperatures in July and August, September brought ideal weather leading up to harvest. It was bright and breezy, with significant differences between day and night temperatures. The combination of warm days and cool nights allowed for balanced sugar and phenolic ripeness according to Andrea Campagnola: ‘The high level of polyphenols imparted an intense colour and tannins that are ripe and round rather than green or astringent,’ he says. Cautious about declaring blanket success, Antonio Cesari at Brigaldara describes 2016 as ‘a year for growers and terroir’.

Beneficial elevation

Attentive work in the vineyard as well as provenance of grapes made a difference. High quality producers repeatedly point to the superiority of hillside sites over the plains. Along with greater diurnal temperature differences and better drainage, vineyards on higher slopes are lower yielding, which was particularly important in a generous year like 2016. Furthermore, fungal disease pressure is less prevalent.

As grapes undergo a drying period of 90 to 120 days on average, clean and healthy berries are vital to the production of Amarone. Any mould can spread quickly as the bunches rest close together on the drying racks. Weather during the appassimento period is therefore as significant as it is throughout the growing season. Here again, Mother Nature was on the producers’ side in 2016.

‘The first 20 days were cool allowing for clean drying without problems,’ says Marco Sartori at Roccolo Grasso. One of the results of climate change in Valpolicella is that the cold weather has been arriving later than usual. However, in 2016, Campagnola cites ideal temperatures of 8-15°C in October, 0-8C° in November and 0-4C° in December.

Despite favourable drying conditions in 2016, the length of time for the appassimento period is a recurring subject of discussion. The Valpolicella consortium has declared that producers can now crush the grapes in mid-November – much earlier than in the past. This serves in part to offset precocious harvests and increased ripeness levels. ‘It means that when starting with grapes that are already rich, we can reduce the drying time to arrive at the style of Amarone we want,’ explains Sartori. Gabriele Righetti at Vignetti et Vigneti Ettore welcomes this as well. ‘In hot years we shorten the appassimento time to avoid exaggerating the jammy character,’ he says.

Conversely, Giancarlo Tommasi still favours a long drying period. ‘I want the cold of December to give the aromatic evolution in the grape,’ he says, explaining that this is also key to the development of glycerol which gives Amarone its signature softness.

I had my first taste of the 2016 Amarones in Verona at the beginning of January this year. Despite two-thirds of the samples coming from cask rather than bottle, the personality of the vintage was clearly demonstrated. Above all, I was charmed by the vibrancy and poise of 2016. Successful wines exhibit freshness without sacrificing the richness and dried fruit character of Amarone. Overall, they are less opulent and unctuously textured than the warmer 2015 vintage but still ripe and offer plenty of depth and fruit concentration. I was equally gratified by what appears to be a trend in lower levels of residual sugar. And, in 2016, Amarone’s heady alcohol levels were generally fairly well balanced and volatile acidity kept in check.

Stylistic divide

The obvious divide between oak-driven wines aged in small French barriques versus those matured in large, typically Slavonian oak casks persists. However, there is a welcome movement to reduce the imprint of oak by using a combination of barriques and larger barrels.

Many of the 2016s will be enjoyable to drink soon after release, especially if you appreciate upfront exuberance. And while some will benefit from mid-term ageing only, the best have the breeding for upwards of 15 years if not longer. This is definitely a vintage in which I recommend putting away a few exceptional bottles in order to reap the rewards of aged Amarone.

While Amarone regulations require a minimum ageing period of two years from the January following harvest, most producers age their wines much longer than this – as evidenced by the number of cask samples I tried. My notes include only those wines that are already bottled. I supplemented my tasting in January with a handful of additional samples in bottle that were sent to me by producers in May.

Nevertheless, besides many promising cask samples waiting to be bottled, there is still plenty more to come from 2016 in the form of producers’ single-vineyard, prestige cuvée and Riserva bottlings.

Amarone della Valpolicella 2016:

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