The official rating of the best (and worst) Amarone vintages of the last 40 years. How the annual weather influenced wine quality and the best Amarone to buy and to store in your wine cellar.
One of the most common question about Amarone is “What are the best Amarone vintages?”. Amarone wine in fact is meant for the bottle ageing and a good (or a bad) vintage plays a very important role in determining its capacity to evolve in a positive way during the years. Generally speaking Amarone is a wine able to age 15-20 years in a wine cellar thanks to its high alcohol content, high tannins, flavors concentrations and its full body. These wine characteristics derive from the particular technique involve into Amarone production (the appassimento method) but also from the weather experienced year-by-year.
What does make a vintage a good vintage?
An ideal vintage is made up of the right combination of heat, sunlight and rain during the growing season (march-october).
- Spring: warm temperatures (above 10°C/50 F) to allow the budburst and no temperature drops which may cause spring frost. Good supply of water for the early shot and leaf growth and good sunlight to allow the photosynthetis.
- Summer: limited supply of water, warm temperature and plenty of sunshine. These conditions allow first the pollination and then the sugars and flavors concentration in the grape.
- Autumn: dry weather. Excess rainfall before harvest can cause grapes to swell, diluiting the juice and may increase the risk of rot.
Best Amarone vintages of the past 40 years
Rating a wine vintage is not easy. Not only due to different and personal perspective but also because very local weather hazards may occur. A summer local hailstorm, which in Valpolicella area represents a common event, may damage and even destroy the crop in a little area while not affecting the grape quality in the rest of the region. Depending on the vineyards location, fungal diseases such as downy and powdery mildew, may spread in the most humid areas, reducing the grape quality (and quantity) or not spread in the most ventilated parts.
Having say that, official vintages ratings are made for every wine, based on the average grape quality in a specific year. About Amarone the most leading authority is the Consorzio per la Tutela dei vini della Valpolicella, the association of Valpolicella wine cellars which represents about 85% of the local wine producers and grape growers. The following rating is the official one, made by Consorzio della Valpolicella:
Amarone vintages rating made by Consorzio della Valpolicella (Valpolicella wine producers association).
Excellent Amarone vintages: 1995-2000-2015
- 1995: it was called “the best grape harvest of the century“. Cold temperatures and plenty of rain in spring interfered with the flowering. This reduced the grape quantity on the vine and, above all, making the vine produce many “loose bunches” (with the berries spaced out from each others) which are the ideal ones for Amarone. Due to the low spring temperatures, the grape resulted also with a very thick skin and therefore rich in tannins, colors and polifenols. From the mid-August the weather was sunny and dry leading the grape to the perfect maturation. Amarone 1995 was produced in a lower quantity (production 30% below the average) but showed an excellent quality: great color and tannins concentration, right alcohol content and good acidity.
- 2000: the summer was very hot and dry and produced low quantities of grape very high in sugars. Large temperatures variations between daytime and night time preserved the acidity and the primary flavors. Dry weather and water shortage limited the spread of mildew and other fungal diseases and in september the grape appeared healthy and with an excellent quality. Amarone 2000 has particularly high alcohol content, is powerful and intense on the nose and well balanced on the mouth.
- 2015: weather extremes characterized this vintage. Summer was very hot and dry and temperatures were the highest in the last twenty years, especially in July. Drought condition caused the vine water stress but didn’t interfere with the grape ripening. The average grape quality was outstanding and, thanks to the low incidence of fungal diseases, the grape quantity was very good as well. Amarone 2015: full bodied, high alcoholic, well balanced and with a great ageing potential.
Very good (recent) Amarone vintages: 2004-2007-2009-2011-2016
Apart excellent vintages, in the last few years, many five stars Amarone vintages can be found as well.
- 2004: in this vintage the weather was particularly good (very dry and warm) at the end of autumn, after the picking. This key fact allowed wine producers to extend the drying process longer. As a result, Amarone grapes reached higher levels of sugars, tannins and flavors concentration.
- 2007 and 2009: climate change and global warming are getting more and more evident in the local viticulture. These two vintages were both characterized by high temperature and dry weather in the summer. Grape reached the perfect ripening with a very little incidence of mildew.
- 2011: high rainfall combined with above-average temperatures anticipated every stage of the vine growth cycle. However weather was warm and dry during harvest time and the final grape quality was very good.
- 2016: changeable weather marked a significant portion of the growing season. Lower temperatures and higher levels of rainfall in fact characterized this vintage from march to the end of august. In september weather improved significantly remaining warm, sunny and dry until december. Wine makers could leave the grape longer on the vine reaching the perfect ripening.
These vintages produced full bodied wines with high alcohol, high and soft tannins and intensely concentrated red berries and spice flavors. Amarone from a very good vintage is not only an outstanding wine when it’s released on the market but is particularly suitable for long bottle ageing, of over 20 years. These bottles represent a good wine investment since their value will increase over time.
More information about wines from Verona can be found on the book: “I vini di Verona. Guida completa alle doc veronesi: origini, uve e tecniche di produzione” by Serena Festini, Cierre Edizioni, Verona 2023.