Bottega – Amarone of Valpolicella Classic Reserve D.O.C.G. Bottega – Pret a Porter – Red Wines – Avvenice

Bottega – Family Vintners & Master Distillers since 1935

Bottega S.p.A. it is at the same time a winery and a distillery, which has a close-knit team of expert winemakers both in winemaking and in distillation. The headquarters is located in Bibano di Godega (TV), in the Doc Prosecco area, 50 km north of Venice. The company was founded in 1977 by Aldo Bottega, master distiller with more than thirty years of experience in the field, which he had inherited from his grandfather, an expert wine merchant during the ’20s, the passion for the world of wine. At the end of the ’70s the company is a small company operating in the local grappa market.

In 1983, on the death of the founder, his son Sandro, together with his brothers Barbara and Stefano, took over the company. From an artisan reality, which operated only in the world of grappa, it has transformed over the years into one of the first 20 private wineries and distilleries. In the duty free and travel retail channel it has burned down the stages and, as far as sparkling wines are concerned, has become the second brand in the world, after a well-known Champagne brand. The unmistakable Bottega Gold, a Prosecco Doc characterized by the bottle with golden livery, is an icon of style that is appreciated throughout the world as an expression of the best Made in Italy.

Bottega – Amarone of Valpolicella Classic Reserve D.O.C.G. Bottega – Pret a Porter – Red Wines

Valpolicella is a land devoted to the cultivation of vines since ancient times: its name “val polis cellae” means, in fact, “the valley of the many wine cellars”. We grow indigenous varieties such as Corvina Veronese, Corvinone, Rondinella and Molinara used to produce important red wines, of great originality, typicality and international fame. Amarone DOCG, the most prestigious red wine from Valpolicella and one of the most prestigious Italian wines, has won over the last few years the most refined palates and enthusiasts all over the world, thanks to its unique and inimitable personality, its charm and its character of ancient but at the same time modern wine. The peculiarity of Amarone Prêt-à-Porter lies in the aging of four years which makes it particularly elegant, with great structure and long life. The American designer Denise Focil has created a fashion bottle of immediate impact for Bottega. The traditional bottle has indeed been enriched by a label printed on a rectangle of light leather, framed by a series of metal studs. The designer has also designed, in leather, a bottle-sized case.

Production Area

Valpolicella (Veneto)

Variety

Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella

Altitude of the Vineyards

200-400 slm

Plants for Hectare

4500 plants for hectare

Breeding System

Veronese Pergola

Collection

First 15 days of October

Yield per Hectare

100 q / Ha

Production Area

Located in Veneto, Valpolicella is a beautiful hilly area (a few kilometers north of Verona), enclosed between the Valdadige, Lessinia and the Verona plain, a stone’s throw from Lake Garda. It extends in the hilly area at the foot of the Veronese Prealps (part of the group of the Eastern Alps) and has a predominantly hilly landscape with soft slopes.

It differs from the surrounding areas by its particular shape, characterized by longitudinal valleys from south to north and therefore very favorable to the movement of air masses along the slopes, when strong southern winds blow. The area is well protected to the north by the Lessinia Prealps and for this reason the climate is similar to that of the Mediterranean, as evidenced by the presence, as well as the vine, the olive and the cypress.

The soil consists of both calcareous-dolomite formations and basalts, as well as morainic and fluvial deposits of volcanic origin. This variability translates into a water and nutritional contribution that allows to ripen the grapes, reaching the optimal concentrations of the different fractions.

Production Process

The grapes, harvested strictly by hand and carefully selected, are dried in the “fruit” in particular conditions of humidity and at controlled temperatures. The best bunches are placed on the trellises in a single layer, to allow better air circulation and to prevent the grapes from becoming crushed. The drying process is continued until about the end of February. During this period the grapes, constantly monitored in order to remove the berries affected by harmful molds, lose half their weight. The drying process involves not only the evaporation of the water resulting in the concentration of sugars, but also a series of complex and important transformations: the acidity decreases, the relationship between glucose and fructose is modified, the polyphenols are concentrated and the content increases of glycerine.

Once this process has been completed, the grapes are subjected to crushing and alcoholic fermentation begins with the use of selected yeasts. The must, which has a very high sugar concentration, ferments slowly in steel tanks at a controlled temperature.

Following the daily pumping over, consisting in wetting the pomace hat which due to the CO2 rises on top of the tank. This practice allows a better and greater extraction of the compounds present in the skins, an aeration of the must that favors the multiplication of yeasts and a decrease in the temperature of the same must in fermentation.

At the end we proceed to the separation of the solid parts of the wine and to the malolactic fermentation or to the degradation of the malic acid in lactic acid and carbon dioxide by lactic bacteria. The wine becomes softer – due to the presence of lactic acid, less aggressive than the malic one – and the more complex and “mature” aromas.

It is then left to mature in French oak barrels. For the refining of this Amarone DOCG Classico Riserva it is possible to use 10-25-50 hectolitre barrels and 5 hectolitre tonneaux. Wood is a porous material and, allowing the passage of oxygen, allows:

– a «controlled oxidation» which, by softening the tannins, gives the wine a rounder and softer character

– color stabilization

– enrichment of the bouquet.

As required by the specification, Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG Classico Riserva Bottega is marketed no earlier than 4 years after the harvest.

The long period of refinement of this wine, produced with dried grapes, gives life to a very thick red, a “meditation” wine complex, rich, unique and inimitable.

Organoleptic Characteristics

Color and Appearance

Deep ruby ​​red with garnet shades.

Nose

The hints of fruit in jam (marasca, plum) followed by sweetness, tobacco, licorice, leafdithè, up to moss, skin and ‘goudron’ or warm, ethereal, intense note, vaguely reminiscent of tar, without being unpleasant, typical of long-aging reds.

Taste

Wine of great structure, complex, enveloping, warm to the palate, with clear spicy notes (cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper) and tobacco, long persistence and a softness in perfect balance with acidity and notes tannic.

Chemical Characteristics

ABV: 15.5%

Sugar, g / l: 2-3

Total acidity, g / l: 5.00-6.00

Service Temperature

14-16 ° C

Serving

Excellent with grilled red meats, roast beef, ribs, chopped, fillet (in crust and pepper), stews, game and very aged cheeses. Perfect as a “meditation wine”, to be tasted slowly at the end of a meal, in order to fully appreciate and appreciate all the different nuances of its complex and incredible bouquet.

Consume Preferably

Within 5 years.

Recommended Glass

Ballon.

Code

V23052075N

Awards

Highly Recommended / 93 points

Decanter Magazine – UK (2017) – VTG 2011

Gold Medal – Mundusvini ISW Award – Germany (2014) – VTG 2008

90/100 Rating – Wine Enthusiast – USA (2012) – VTG 2006

Bronze Medal – Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Competition – HK (2012) – VTG 2006

Silver Medal – International Travel Retail Awards – UK (2011)