2003 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOC Mazzano

Mazzano is the name of the vineyard in the commune of Negrar, within the Valpolicella Classico zone, where the grapes for this tremendous wine are grown. It is a famous vineyard built over terraces supported by dry stone walls.

This wine consistently wins the highest awards.

Tasting Notes
The wine has a deep ruby colour. Mazzano Amarone immediately offers a sensation of elegance. On the nose it offers an intense and concentrated scent of ripe cherry and black cherry as well as a note of cooked plums. The fruit on the palate evolves in liquorice and bitter chocolate aromas, with a hint of toasted coffee. Its finish is incredibly long and quite majestic.

Matching
It can accompany red meats, game, quail and other tasty recipes. Excellent with aged and piquant cheeses like parmesan and pecorino. It is also a great after-pdinner wine. Recommended drinking temperature 18C.

Winemaking Notes
Amarone is the product of the ancient winemaking method of appassimento (drying of the grapes). After harvest, the best clusters of grapes are laid out on bamboo racks in the lofts of the farmhouse on the vineyard, where large windows allow a natural ventilation. By the middle of February, the grapes weigh 35-40% less than when harvested. They are partially affected by botrytis (or noble rot) due to the climate of the high hills.

After a delicate pressing, the dried grapes, still on their stalks, ferment for about 45 days in large Slavonian oak barrels at low, natural temperatures (the season was very cold). Then the wine continues to ferment until the sugar has been totally transformed into alchohol and the malolactic fermentation has taken place.

The wine is aged for 3 years in Allier and Slavonian oak barrels of 600 hectolitres - some of them new, some used for the second time, some the third. After bottling, the wine is allowed to age at least a further 6 months before release.