In the cellars of Tedeschi: Tasting back in time

Amarone is one of those wines which evokes different feelings in different people. Some may recall enjoying the rich, curranty fruit and warming alcohol in their favourite chair on a winter’s night. A vino da meditazione which needs no accompaniment.

Others may find that it’s a food-friendly wine perfect for drinking with roast lamb or seasonal game, and some enjoy the prestige of pouring Amarone for treasured guests.

But, equally, there’s another group of wine drinkers which is turned off by Amarone’s high alcohol and boisterous reputation.

And while an increasing number of winemakers are today dialling down Amarone’s excesses to make a more drinkable – dare I say elegant – red to appeal to modern sensibilities, debates in wine circles continue to rage about whether Amarone can stand up to long ageing, or whether it should in fact be drunk in its youth.

Scroll down to see notes and scores from an exploration of Tedeschi

At the beginning of the year, I travelled to Pedemonte, in the heart of the Valpolicella Classica zone, to visit family-run Tedeschi and taste some historical vintages of their Amarone.

And for me, these absolutely demonstrated that quality Amarone can age very gracefully indeed.

Origins in Valpolicella

The Tedeschi family has been in Valpolicella since 1630, and making wine since 1824. They have just opened their archive of old vintages to the public – some 27,000 bottles in total – of which the tasting room beneath the winery houses 6,800.

Lorenzo Tedeschi began producing a dry Amarone in the 1960s, at a time when it was little known and the sweet Recioto was still the typical wine of the region produced from semi-dried grapes.

In fact, it was only in 1990 that Amarone della Valpolicella DOC was allowed to be put on the label – previously, wines were labelled as Recioto della Valpolicella DOC Amarone (as seen in the image of the 1979 vintage, below).

Today, under management by Lorenzo’s children, Antonietta, Sabrina and Riccardo, Tedeschi makes several Valpolicella and Amarone from a variety of locations.

The wines

It’s not often you get the opportunity to compare not only older vintages of Amarone, but also different bottlings from the same producer, so this occassion was a fascinating insight into how these wines can evolve, and how differences in micro-climate and soils (and winemaking, of course) can play a role in a wine’s characteristics.

Over the years, changes have been made to enhance the quality of the wines. Winemaker Riccardo Tedeschi has shortened maceration times, and works with horizontal rather than vertical tanks, which he says preserve more structure in the wines.

He also uses three 25hl French oak casks and some old (up to 50 years-old…) Slavonian oak casks, as well as cement vats and ceramic eggs which impart gentle oxygenation without the tannins that wood imparts.

Marne 180

35% Corvina, 35% Corvinone, 20% Rondinella, 10% Rossignola, Oseleta, Negrara, Dindarella.

‘Marne 180’ refers to the marl (‘marne’ in Italian) soils of the Maternigo estate – situated in the hills on the east side of the Valpolicella zone at 250-480 metres above sea level. The name also refers to the 180° exposure of the vineyards there.

Made from a selection of favourable plots, Marne 180 is Tedeschi’s new ‘entry level’ Amarone (first vintage, 2015), aged in Slavonian oak barrels for around 30 months. Clay-rich soils with limestone, iron and manganese provide balance, energy and spice to the wines.

The estate now also provides the fruit for a single-vineyard Amarone Riserva, ‘Maternigo’ (not included in this tasting). So far, just two vintages have been released: 2016 and 2019, but the results are exceptional.

La Fabriseria

40% Corvina, 40% Corvinone, 15% Rondinella, 5% Oseleta.

La Fabriseria is sourced from vines grown on terraces on the hills of Valpolicella Classica on the west side of the denomination, between Fumane and Sant’Ambrogio di Valpolicella.

First produced in the 1983 vintage, just 10 vintages of this 2,500-bottle production have been released to date. These days, a portion of the bunches are left uncrushed, and it’s aged in Slavonian oak barrels for 48 months followed by a further 12 months in bottle.

Calcareous soils with iron oxide and some sandy elements over schist and clay are complemented by a dry and windy micro-climate, with large temperature swings between daytime and nighttime which preserve freshness and ensure optimal ripening.

Monte Olmi

30% Corvina, 30% Corvinone, 30% Rondinella, 10% Oseleta, Negrara, Dindarella, Croatina, Forselina.

The prestigious 2.5-hectare Monte Olmi vineyard, located close to the winery in Pedemonte di Valpolicella, in Valpolicella Classica, has been owned by the family since 1918.

Since 1964, Tedeschi has produced a single-vineyard Amarone – one of the first in Valpolicella – from this southwest-facing, dry-stone terraced vineyard.

It’s a traditional blend of pergola-trained Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, Oseleta, Negrara, Dindarella, Croatina and Forselina, grown on red clay and limestone soils with some accumulations of gravel.

The wine spends 48 months in Slavonian oak barrels before bottling, where it spends another six months.

Amarone through the decades

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