Guiseppe Campagnola 2018 Amarone della Valpolicella

£26.85
Tasting notes
Rich and fruity with good tannins. Ideal with rich meats and hard cheeses. Generally considered a wine for meditation, it is great after-dinner.

Why we recommend this wine
The challenge with raisinated grapes is too high alcohol and a taste reminiscent of chewing fruit cake dried fruits. Whilst 15% ABV is not a low alcohol wine it is not as alcoholic as many Amarone which come in at well over 16%. Whilst rich and fruity it doesn’t taste like fruit cake. So, all in all, a wine we like!

The wine
The Corvina (65%) and Rondinella grapes were hand harvested from hillside vineyards in Marano di Valpolicella at the end of September. The grapes were then naturally dried on mats for 90 to 100 days in the traditional manner. After this period, the grapes are then soft pressed in December/January followed by 30 days maceration on the skins. After fermentation, 60% of the wine is aged for 24 months in large oak barrels and 40% of the wine is aged for 18 months in new French Allier oak barriques. The final assemblage is then carried out and the wine then spends a further 6 months in bottle before release.

The wine estate
Established in 1907 in the Marano di Valpolicella valley, the fifth-generation owners of Campagnola have worked hard to improve its ecological commitment and respect for the environment where it operates, convinced that this is the best way to protect the land that gives life to its wines. They believe that aware and informed agriculture can do a great deal to mitigate the effects of climate change and adapt to changing conditions. Even wine-making can help ensure sustainable production cycles through direct action on key production factors: savings in power consumption, water resource management and reduction of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.
campagnola.com

Food and wine
Traditionally served with game, braised meats and fully matured cheeses. It is made for crispy duck pancakes with plum sauce! Also see our guide to pairing food and wine here.

Did you know?
The reason why most sweet wines are alcoholic is because grape spirit is added to stop fermentation (where sugar is converted into alcohol) thus leaving the wine sweet and alcoholic. In Amarone’s case they start with a sweet wine and allow fermentation to consume as much sugar as possible before the alcohol levels kill off the yeasts leaving the wine off dry rather than sweet but also with high alcohol levels.