Bertani Amarone Cellar Offering Back to the 1964 Vintage including the KILLER 1990 Vintage in OWC!
Life is too short, and I'm Italian. I'd much rather eat pasta and drink wine than be a size 0.
Sophia Bush
Food and wine are two of life’s greatest passions and they have proven that it’s actually healthier if you are slightly overweight than underweight. Ya- “they” proved it- scientist people did it not the Wine Spectator people!
We just hosted a vintage Amarone wine tasting and it was evident to me that the 1990 Bertani Amarone was the best wine on the table. Ok… the crowd picked a different wine but they were clearly wrong! The 1990 vintage is drinking at its peak today and we have 90 bottles in stock!! All from the same cellar bought upon release and stored in an underground cellar its entire life. This is the best possible scenario in terms of provenance. We also received several other old vintages of Amarone from this great producer back to legendary 1964 vintage!
A Pristine Collection of Bertani Amarone on SALE!!
1990 BERTANI AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO DOCG, VENETO, ITALY
Price: $450.00 Sale Price: $375.00 Quantity in Stock: 90
This wine is a paradigm example of a vintage Amarone still with a good amount of youthful cherry berry and plum fruit, with notes of sweet herbs, cured meats and coco powder coming out as the wine opens. A big and chewy wine on the tongue with smooth silky tannins, lots of juicy fruit on the tongue with layers of dark spices, sweet herbs and a long layered finish still quite fresh and will age for another 10+ years in the cellar. Finish 50+ KILLER
A bit about Bertani Winery:
Some wine writers would lead you to believe that Amarone was created by accident some time in the early 1950’s and it is the dry version of ancient Recioto (Acinaticum, as it was called in the early ‘Dark Ages’ by Cassiodorus of the Longobards) This is not the case. Amarone is an old style of wine which has only recently come into fashion.
One of the most important aspects of harvesting grapes is the level of ripeness or sugar content. This will determine what style of wine is made. Some wine regions of the world will allow grapes to go beyond maturity into a partly shriveled state. In Italy this practice is most widely practiced in Veneto, where wines like Soave, Gambellara, and Valpolicella live. You will often see the term “Recioto” preceding the aforementioned names. Recioto is a dialect word for ears, in this case the “ears” or protruding upper portion of the grape bunch, that are selected for this process because they have the best exposure to the sun, they are the ripest.
In Italy, when a producer makes a “Recioto”, or other wines from partially dried berries, the drying takes place after the grapes have been picked. The bunches are spread out, indoors, on straw or wire-bottomed palates, to be crushed within one month or, sometimes, several months later. One consequence of this process is that the berries water content evaporates, concentrating the juice and increasing the proportion of sugar to pulp. During this drying process, other more complex transformations take place, some of the acids are lost, others created, and different sugar compounds formed. The end product is a more intense, aromatic, full-bodied wine, richer in alcohol, glycerin, and sugar.
Amarone at its best is not just one of the best red wines coming from Italy, but one of the top red wines made in the world. The quality of Amarones has improved vastly over the last decade and one of the leaders of this quality revolution is Bertani. Bertani has been steadily improving the quality of all of its wines. They have been considered one of the top producers of Amarone for decades; today the vast improvement of this property is most evident in their innovative wines. The most interesting of these is a throw back to the original recipe, not a new wine but one they are reintroducing to their fans the SECCO BERTANI VERONA ORIGINAL VINTAGE EDITION, this 2016 vintage is their current release and an incredible value priced at under $30 a bottle!
2016 SECCO BERTANI VERONA ORIGINAL VINTAGE EDITION
Price: $30.50 Your Price: $26.84 Quantity in Stock: 17
The original style wine made at this property in 1888 which was the first to make a dryer style of red from this region, this is the second vintage of this wine and it is a blend of Sangiovese Grosso, Corvina, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. A very unique bouquet of aromas with notes of dried flowers, herbs, dried tobacco spice with some dried fruit cherry and a certain medicinal quality to the bouquet. A big and chewy wine on the tongue with lots of fruit very succulent but with excellent structure also layers of spice and a chalky note to the finish but has lots of everything. Finish 40+ Excellent +
1999 BERTANI SECCO VALPOLICELLA VALPANTENA
Price: $25.00 Your Price: $22.00 Quantity in Stock: 36
We received a few cases of this Valpolicella in a cellar and shocking to me it is still drinking nicely. Light cherry and plum fruit with hints of dried tobacco spice, herbs and flowers. Smooth and silky on the tongue this wine is showing a good bit of evolution but is drinking shockingly well for such a pedestrian wine and we have over 3cs of it! Finish 30+ Very Good
Check out all the wines from this great producer from Verona, these are not only some of the best in their categories but they are all excellent values as well.
All the Wines from Bertani that are currently available on SALE!!
2022 BERTANI SEREOLE SOAVE DOC
Price: $19.50 Your Price: $17.16
Sereole is a Soave with a lively and unmistakeable personality. It is made exclusively with Garganega grapes, the most elegant native white grape from the Verona area, grown in the Sereole vineyard, a veritable cru on the hill between Soave and Monteforte d’Alpone. The slightly late harvest, combined with fermentation of the must in large oak barrels, adds freshness and richness of flavor which marry well with a light ageing in wood, to give the wine plushness and complexity.
Tasting notes: A straw-yellow color with golden highlights; the floral bouquet has overtones of elderflower and pear, developing into sweeter aromas of yellow-fleshed fruits such as apricot, pineapple and melon. Plush on the palate, balanced with sapid notes that enhance the structure.
2021 BERTANI VALPOLICELLA, VENETO, ITALY
Price: $18.75 Your Price: $16.50
GRAPE VARIETIES AND VINEYARDS: 80% Corvina Veronese and 20% Rondinella. The vines are vertical-trellised, with Guyot pruning and a planting density of 5000 plants/ha.
Tasting Notes: An intense red colour with purplish highlights; intense hints of redcurrants, plums, raspberries, sour cherries balanced by spicy notes reminiscent of pepper and cinnamon. On the palate it is approachable, fresh and pleasant, thanks to good balance between acidity, savoury notes and richness of flavour.
The red grapes, especially Corvina, come from the oldest soils in Valpolicella, and express the warmth, strength and concentration of the fruits of this land: from the Valpolicella Classica area, the characteristic notes of fresh fruits, cherry in particular, from Valpolicella Valpantena the spicy notes and the silky tannins. A combination of colours and flavours that offer extraordinary elegant and pleasant sensations.
2020 BERTANI VALPOLICELLA RIPASSO VENETO
Price: $28.25 Your Price: $24.86
This is a new wine and has replaced the Bertani Secco Ripasso and they now have a straight valpolicella also instead of the one wine made in the past. A blend of 60% Corvina and 40% Rondinella and this wine is made with the pass over the lees of Amarone style Ripasso with pretty floral notes and red cherry pie like fruit, red licorice spice, very fruity bouquet of aromas, sweet tobacco spice. Spiced red berry fruit on the tongue, light and zesty but has some good fruit in the mid palaet and some tannins at the end, drinking very nicely at the moment but has the structure to last a few year sin the bottle, a real crowd pleaser. Finish 35+ Excellent
2020 BERTANI CRU ' OGNI SANTI DI NOVARE' VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO SUPERIORE VENETO
Price: $53.00 Your Price: $46.64
(94 Points) From white soils high in calcium carbonate, this wine is named after the 13th century church which stands in the middle of the west-facing 2.92ha vineyard, laid out over eight terraces. ‘Here, I wanted to bring oak to Valpolicella,’ explains Angelini Wine Estates' COO and talented winemaker, Andrea Lonardi, who uses new 50hl casks for 12 months. Bright red and black cherry scents with earthy depth lead to a silky-soft, vibrant palate full of succulent cherry fruit. The mid-palate is stony and shows good fruit sapidity, while the finish is long, spicy and fresh. Excellent balance and incredibly energetic. Tasted by: James Button Decanter
2020 BERTANI VALPANTENA AMARONE
Price: $65.25 Your Price: $57.42
This wine comes from the hills of the Valpantena, the only “cru” subzone in the Valpolicella area. Bertani’s traditional devotion to producing Amarone is also found in this wine, a modern and balanced Amarone, but still authentic and rich in body. New fermentation technology and drying methods give balance and elegance to the wine’s exuberant fruity notes, blackberry flavour, hints of mint, sweet cherry and spicy notes that are typical of this valley.
2012 BERTANI AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA
Price: $152.00 Your Price: $133.76
An iconic wine, full of personality, where elegance always prevails over power. Complex, balanced and well-orchestrated, with extraordinary longevity. An intense red colour with garnet highlights. The nose is marked by typical notes of plum, cherry and morello, followed by tea leaves, liquorice and spices. The palate reveals overtones of red berries, sweetened by soft spicy notes, in perfect balance with the acidity and tannin
1996 BERTANI AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO DOCG
Price: $345.00 Sale Price: $275.00 Quantity in Stock: 7
Deep red with garnet nuances. the flavour is complex, the nose opens with ripe cherries, followed by hints of blackberries, chocolate, spices, hay and vanilla. All those aromas are destined to better in the course of years and to become more distinct and harmonious. Full and soft on the palate with hints of red berries and liquorice and with a long, flavourful, fruit-filled finish.
1994 BERTANI AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO DOCG VENETO, ITALY MAGNUM
Price: $625.00 Sale Price: $495.99 Quantity in Stock: 4
1994 BERTANI AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO DOCG VENETO, ITALY
Price: $295.00 Sale Price: $230.00 Quantity in Stock: 9
After a winter with normal temperature and rainfall, the spring was cold and with late frosts, followed by a hot and dry summer, which resulted in low yields but high quality grapes. The harvest was difficult because of a lot of rains.
Deep and thick garnet red. At the nose the typical notes of Amarone, as medlars, cherries and dry plum. Great bouquet, fresh fruits and jam with notes of vanilla and hay. On the palate, aromas of red berry fruits with a long fruit finish and notes of vanilla on a soft and thick structure.
1993 BERTANI AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO DOCG VENETO, ITALY
Price: $350.00 Sale Price: $280.00 Quantity in Stock: 29
A mild winter with few rainfall was followed by a very hot spring that caused an anticipation of the blossoming. The hot weather in the month of August caused a reduced crop, inferior to the previous year. The hot and sunny summer favoured an exceptional harvest of grapes for drying.
Deep ruby red with violet highlights. The nose opens with plum, ripe cherries, chocolate, hay spices and vanilla. The mouth is full; sweet tannins prevail on the palate, which concludes in a sustained, fruit-filled finish.
1964 BERTANI AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO DOCG, VENETO, ITALY
Price: $695.00 Sale Price: $550.00 Quantity in Stock: 17
Very good vintage with abundant rainfall in spring time. In july and august long period of dryness, only few rain in september. October very nice and dry. This wine has been aged for more than 10 years in Bottle and aged 20 years in cask. It has an intense garnet red, a very rich bouquet that recalls the dry fruit, above all the hazelnut, the plum, the tobacco, the cacao and the leather. The mouth is spicy and it has a great lasting taste, it recalls the truffle and the almond. This wine is preserved in a very good way, and it still is really a very good wine to drink.
1964 BERTANI AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO DOCG VENETO (LABELS DAMAGED)
Price: $475.00 Sale Price: $395.00 Quantity in Stock: 11
These bottles came from the same cellar as the ones above but the labels were damaged due to excess moisture in this part of the cellar but we have tasted several now of these damaged labels and they have all been excellent. One taster at our last Amarone event picked it as WOTN!