Barolo, a wine generally pale ruby red in colour, hailing from Piedmont region in Northwest Italy, is often referred to as the ‘King of Wines’. These wines are characterized by their powerful, full bodies, the aromas of tar, violets and roses (amongst many others) and by their often rough, tannic structure. Barolo must be made 100% from the Nebbiolo grape, and achieved the Italian quality assurance rating of DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) in 1980. Barolo cannot be classified as Barolo until it has aged for three years at the winery, or for five years if it is called Riserva. In recent years producers of Barolo have had to implement many changes in the production of their wines which have enabled them to become more accessible to the general public who’s tastes were changing towards younger, fruitier wines that were ready to drink the day of purchase. They began this transformation by allowing the wine to mature in smaller, French oak barrels rather than leaving them in very large, old, Slovenian wooden casks called botti for many years, this was thought to minimize the risk of oxygenation and also offset the harsh tannins typical of Nebbiolo with the flavour of vanilla from the oak. The introduction of temperature controlled fermentation in the 1980’s made the wines a lot more fruit driven, in addition it became commonplace for producers to take the juice and pump it over the grape skins in order to maximize the deep colour and yet reduce the level of harsh tannins, this was in contrast to the previous method, in which the wines were fermented while still in contact with the skins.
Slightly further south, in the region of Tuscany, lies the small town of Montalcino, home of the area’s most expensive wines. Brunello di Montalcino is another 1980 DOCG this time made exclusively from Sangiovese Grosso, they must be aged slightly longer than Barolos, for a minimum of four years (five for Riserva) and two of those years must be in oak. Again they are generally pale ruby in colour and taste of black fruits, chocolate and leather, often with some vanilla. Much like traditional Barolos the idea is that the wines should be so thick with harsh tannins that they must be left for at least 20 years. If they are ripe skin tannins and there is enough fruit, then the result will often be some breathtaking wines. Again similar to Barolo wines, traditional producers of Brunello will opt to use large Slovenian cask whilst the new aged producers will generally use smaller French barriques. In March ’08 scandal hit the area with the news that several leading producers had been found guilty of illegally growing and harvesting Merlot and Cabinet Sauvignon to complement the Sangiovese.
Across to the east of the country, the Veneto plays home to it’s own expensive and luxurious wine Amarone della Valpolicella, or simply Amarone. Amarone, like ordinary Valpolicella, is made from Corvina with the possible addition of Rossignola, Negrara, Trentina, Barbera, and Sangiovese. Where it differs from Valpolicella however, is in the preparation for fermentation. The traditional, and still often used, process called radinate would be put into action several months before fermentation is due to take place the ripe grapes, which have been meticulously selected in the first weeks of October, are left on straw mats to allow them to dry out and become shrived, this acts as a way of concentrating their sugar and flavours. Generally speaking this process produces wines that are rich, intense, high in alcohol (sometimes as much as 16%) and long lasting. Nowadays however the use of special drying chambers allowing for controlled temperatures and conditions has been adopted by many of the major producers, this achieves the same results in the wines but is a lot more efficient and easier to monitor.
After this process is complete the wine will then be left to mature, much like its Piedmontese and Tuscan neighbours, in either French or Slovenian barriques. While the length of time that an Amarone is aged can vary, most producers, such as Tomassi, opt for at least three years in oak before being placed in bottles for a further period of at least anther year. A good Amarone should be full bodied and have a raison-like taste to it, also expect cherries and a hint of vanilla.
