2013 Brolo Dei Giusti, Amarone della Valpolicella - Liberty

In northern Italy, a ‘Brolo’ is a walled vineyard similar to a French ‘Clos’. Cantina Valpantena directly farms three Broli comprising 13 hectares of vines. One lies in the heart of the Valpantena Valley while the other two are in Montorio, on the Val Squaranto side. Stefano Casali, Valpantena’s head agronomist, manages these vineyards and has introduced reduced spraying, carefully controlled water consumption and the elimination of weed killers. The knowledge and results that Stefano gains from these vineyards are then used to advise other Valpantena growers on their viticulture. These efforts have been formally recognised through accreditation for all the Broli vineyards with VIVA Sustainable Viticulture certification

The grape varieties grown in the Broli are Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella, trained using the traditional ‘Pergola Veronese’ method. The grapes are hand-picked to ensure only the best quality fruit is used for the Brolo dei Giusti wines. Cantina Valpantena’s winemaking team, led by Luca Degani, is involved in all stages of vinification. The Valpolicella Superiore is made partly from dried grapes. It spends 12 months in large Slavonian oak and two years in cement tanks, resulting in a beautiful, bright palate with great acidity and structure. After drying for 12 weeks, the Amarone grapes are pressed in late December. Following fermentation, the wine is aged for 36 months in a combination of French and Slavonian oak of different sizes. This resulting wine has serious depth, concentration and complexity and is, deservedly, the flagship wine of this successful and quality-oriented cooperative.

The grapes for this wine come from three Broli which make up a total of 13 hectares. One of them is in the heart of the Valpantena valley while the other two are in Montorio, on the Val Squaranto side. Altitude is 100 meters above sea level and the soil is clay. Vines are trained with both Guyot and the traditional Pergola systems.The vineyards are managed following Sustainable principles.

2013 was characterised by specific climatic conditions that encouraged slow but optimal ripening of the grapes. In autumn, the climate was generally mild with temperatures above the seasonal average, followed by a very rainy and snowy winter. The mild conditions continued throughout spring. The months of July and August were crucial, with their high temperatures and highly beneficial day-night temperature variations, which were very important for ideal ripening. The climate during harvest in September and October was mostly good even if it was interspersed with days of heavy rain.

Grapes were hand-harvested during the second week of October. Selected bunches were then put to dry until the last week of December. During this period grapes lost 37% of their weight. Once pressed, the must fermented slowly for 13 weeks at a temperature of 26°C. At the end of the fermentation the wine was aged in oak for 36 months and then another 12 to 24 months in tank before bottling.