2020 Cantina Vaona, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOCG “Pegrandi” Veneto, Italy.
I’m quite jaded when it comes to Amarone, having experiences with Quintarelli, Dal Forno and Allegrini so often in my past that I find it actually difficult to even want to taste a new (to me) producer, but I finally broke the spell recently and really enjoyed this 2020 Vaona Pegrandi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, which showed off richness, depth and a charm that few examples of this special wine can truly offer. Made from the classic native varietals, Corvina and Rondinella, as well as a few lesser known grapes, which are all hand picked and carefully sorted, then, as typically done, laid out on the “straw” mats for about 4 or 5 months to concentrate the flavors before a natural fermentation and a long elevage, almost four years. The results are a dark garnet wine of refined structure and an almost chocolatey dense full bodied palate of reduced dark berry, sweet cherry, plum and ever so slightly raisiny fruit, along with wilted flowers, dried herbs, coco powder, candied orange peel and earthy truffle notes, as well as lingering fig. The mouth feel is supple and luxurious, without feeling too heavy or overtly sweet, there’s a nice balance and rustic charm, again without too much of the pruned character I don’t like in my wines and it drinks impeccably well and drier in style, which is very compelling to me. The Voana wines, imported to the States by Massanois, are lovely, I was able to run through a selection of them and found the Valpolicella Ripasso, made by running the fresh crushed juice made wine through the Amarone must, a real joy in the glass, and of course this outstanding traditionally crafted Amarone, both entertaining, solid values and are wines I would highly recommend.
The Vaona Amarone 2020 saw a mix of 30% Corvina, 35% Corvinone, 25% Rondinella, 5% Molinara and 5% Raboso Veronese, and as mentioned above was placed on bamboo mats for five months to dry out, cutting down on acidity and softening the tannins, as well as heightening the natural alcohol to around 16%. This seriously delicious Amarone comes from, as the label suggests, the Pegrandi vineyard, owned by the Vaona family for many generations, which is located in the municipal district of Marano di Valpolicella, in the heart of the Classic Valpolicella zone. The family says that the terroir here includes medium-textured alluvial soil of a calcareous nature and that the vines see optimal sun exposure that guaranteesfull and even ripening of the grape clusters. The altitude here too plays a role, at between 230 and 250 metres above sea level the vines see more of a temperature shift and captures some breezes, which is very helpful when growing grapes here in the Veneto, an area that sees some problems with humidity, and allowing for nice hang time for extra dimension in the phenolic development. After the 5 or so months of drying on the mats the bunches are partially de-stemmed and crushed, cold soaked for up to 10 days, seeing a good extraction and maceration period in cool vats, with a spontaneous fermentation, to preserve aromatics and clarity, lasting another 20 plus days. After primary fermentation is complete the Voana Amarone della Valpolicella Classico is matured in Durmast oak barrels, in a combination of15HL to 30HL size casks, for 40 months, with an additional period of 5 months in bottle before release. The underlying powerful nature of this Amarone certainly with benefit by having some robust cuisine, and it should age well for another decade with ease.
($60 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive