2021 Alpha Zeta, `A` Amarone della Valpolicella - Liberty

Alpha Zeta was conceived in 1999 when Liberty Wines set out to produce a range of modern, fruit-driven wines from the hills outside Verona. Working with leading New Zealand winemaker Matt Thomson of Blank Canvas, Alpha Zeta works directly with growers rather than buying bulk wine, the standard for most wines from Verona at this price. In doing so, ripe grapes are obtained by reducing yields and picking later, utilising Matt’s expertise to preserve these flavours in the finished wines. As a result, Alpha Zeta continues to offer great value, quality, balance and typicity.

The unoaked ‘S’ Soave is dry, scented and delicious, while the ‘C’ Chardonnay is melony and impressive, offering outstanding value. The ‘P’ Pinot Grigio, made solely from grapes grown on hillside vineyards in the Alpone Valley, is balanced and quaffable with a lovely pear and bread crust character on the nose and palate. The ‘Terrapieno’ Pinot Grigio is a testament to the close collaboration between Matt and his grower. Having discovered the quality of the fruit from this vineyard, Matt decided to bottle it separately, creating a wine with great intensity and a silky texture. The reds are equally impressive. The ‘V’ Valpolicella has bright, black cherry fruit and velvety tannins, while the ‘R’ Ripasso is silky and scented. New for the 2023 vintage is a Valpolicella hailing from the Valpantena valley. Here, higher elevations lend themselves an elegant and complex profile, enhanced by the use of whole bunch fermentation. The range is rounded out with the ‘A’ Amarone, which is one of the best-value examples available on the market today.

The vineyards are situated at 250-300 metres above sea level in the hills outside Verona, in the Valpantena Valley, on south/south-east facing slopes. Cool breezes blow down the valley from the foothills of the Dolomites, which moderate the climate, enabling the grapes to ripen and helping them to retain their aromatic compounds and acidity. The soil is poor and chalky so the vines are put under stress and produce superior quality fruit. The vines are 20-30 years old on average and are trained using both the traditional Pergola Veronese and Guyot systems.

The 2021 vintage had excellent weather, with regular levels of rainfall. The harvest period had good weather and fine sunny days which allowed the vineyard team to harvest very healthy grapes, with great acid content. A vintage of good quality overall.

Selected grapes were hand harvested in mid-September and left to dry in specially ventilated rooms until the end of January. During this time the grapes lost about 40% of their natural weight. The grapes were destemmed and crushed at the end of January. Fermentation temperature was between 18-20°C with daily periodic pumping over, while the length of maceration was 20 days. This Amarone was matured in French oak barriques for 18 months and transferred into concrete tanks for final filtration before bottling.

This Amarone is deep and intense on the nose with aromas of dried cherries, plums, spiced autumn fruit compote and chocolate. On the palate, it is powerful with a lovely balance of ripe, silky tannins and a spiced, concentrated savoury cherry fruit character. A touch of woodsmoke completes the long finish.