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Six Wines from Antolini

It is true that in the past I have spent only a little time investigating the wines of Veneto, a series of short vinous and vicarious excursions into the region that were nevertheless sufficient to discover the many and varied styles of wine that can be found here. There is something for everyone, from refreshingly vibrant and more seriously structured whites, Soave from the likes of Inama, Prà, Pieropan and no doubt many others, to the broad style of red wines offered, from fruity Valpolicella to the rich and concentrated Amarone version, made by following an age-old recipe which begins by drying the grapes for several months prior to fermentation. Indeed, as if to provide a reminder of these explorations, I still have a bottle or two of Allegrini's Amarone della Valpolicella hiding in the cellar somewhere, just waiting to emerge at 15 or perhaps 20 years of age. For sweet wine there is Recioto della Valpolicella of course, made in much the same way but with a less exhaustive fermentation of the sugars engendering a sweet style. And for your sparkling wines, who could forget the joys of Prosecco?

Despite these journeys of discovery it is not often that I return to Veneto these days, save for the occasional encounter with the likes of Pieropan, Allegrini and Bisol at tastings hosted by Liberty or Bibendum. So it was a pleasant surprise recently to have the opportunity to look at the region once again, through the wines of Pier Paolo and Stefano Antolini, two brothers based in Marano di Valpolicella to the north of Verona, very close to the shores of Lake Garda.

The Antolini family are not imbued with a long history of viticulture; indeed the brothers only really started up in 1992 with vines planted on their land around Marano di Valpolicella, San Pietro in Cariano and Negrar. And it was not until 2001 that they completed construction of their cellars, including new drying facilities for the Amarone and Recioto styles.

Today Pier Paolo and Stefano cultivate 8 hectares of vines, planted on clay-rich and water-retentive soils, thus avoiding the need to install any irrigation. The principal Veneto varieties dominate, these being Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella, although there is also a little Cabernet Sauvignon planted here, as well as Garganega and Trebbiano for a single white cuvée. The sites most favoured by the brothers include Morópio, near Marano di Valpolicella, a 2.2-hectare vineyard planted in the 1970s, and also Ca'Coato, a site closer to Negrar which they purchased in 2000. And from these vines they fashion a range of wines very typical of the region, not just Valpolicella but also a Ripasso, where the fermenting wine is mixed with a Recioto marc giving a richer wine, as well as several cuvées of Amarone della Valpolicella and an Amarone-style IGT which includes the aforementioned Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend. (16/9/10)

Six Wines from Antolini - Tasting Notes

Tasted in September 2010. Click for stockists.

Antolini Valpolicella Classico 2008: A blend of Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella. Temperature-controlled fermentation, bottled under synthetic closure during the spring following the harvest. A light hue in the glass. The nose carries notes of vegetal, cola-tinged fruit with a very sooty, oil-smoke character. There is a horsey, animalistic bent to it as well. A lean palate, with some stemmy-stewed fruit, starting off rather bright but then terminating in a rather clipped finish, peppered with some chalky, red fruits and a little tannin. A bistro wine. 12/20

Antolini Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso 2008: Again a blend of Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella, but after the primary fermentation the wine is mixed with the Recioto marc the spring the following year to induce an enrichening second fermentation. Attractive, warm fruit on the nose, with a little tobacco leaf. Nice texture at first, yielding to a more bitter grip through the middle, the sharp cherry fruit sitting with a little smooth dark chocolate. Plenty of structure showing here, overall it has some appeal, I think it just needs a little more harmony on the palate. 14/20

Antolini Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Morópio 2006: A blend of Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella. Amarone is naturally a high-alcohol style; this one weighs in at 16.5%. A dark and glossy hue here, as we might expect. An evocative and characterful nose, certainly rich, full of sweet character, but more than balanced out by dense, savoury themes. Intense, heady, black cherry, smoky damson and plum-skin fruit, sweetly marinated meat, tinged with cinnamon. An expansive style, a character which translates very nicely onto the palate, which shows an immediate creamy richness, before allowing a little spicy prickle to come through in the midpalate, all the while maintaining its broad, palate-coating presence. Impressive, with some notable grip from a firm tannic backbone which runs through into the very long finish, together with the substance of an alcohol-rich palate. A good effort here. 15/20

Antolini Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Ca'Coato 2006: A blend of Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella. This example of this traditional Veronese style surpasses Morópio in the alcohol stakes, with 17%. A nose of hot and high-toned fruit, with a perfumed character rather reminiscent of galia melon mixed with tobacco and rose petals. Sweet and dense on entry, creamy but bright and perfumed and fresh as well. Through the middle though it flattens out somewhat, showing a melange of creamed red cherry fruit, slowly opening like a flower to reveal a hot seam of alcohol with comes to dominate the end of the palate. Rather flat and fuzzy here. It has a long but rather subdued finish, soft and out of focus, leaving the palate with a spirity tingle. It's too much for me. 13.5/20

Antolini IGT Ross Veronese Theobroma 2006: A wine made in the Amarone style, at 15%, but using Cabernet Sauvignon and Croatina alongside the more familiar Corvina and Rondinella. It has a moderate depth of colour, certainly not at all opaque, and a rather Porty nose, showing notes of sweet dark fruit tinged with the skins of dried blueberries and cranberries, along with notes of warm spices, especially cloves and cinnamon. The palate has a broad sweetness, showing lots of structure, and my feeling with the wine on the palate is that its flesh and substance doesn't quite match the rather admirable tannic backbone of the wine. It seems a touch woody and rather dry in terms of composition right through to the finish. This doesn't convey the usual polished depth that we would expect from the style. 13.5/20

Antolini Recioto della Valpolicella 2007: Again a blend of Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella, the dried fruit fermented in two stages, the must from the first added to the pressed fruit of the second a month later. A dense, opaque wine in the glass, a glossy red-black. The nose betrays the wine's sweetness, showing sugary and almost confected black cherry fruit, with a high-toned, black berry edge. Dense and creamy at the start of the palate, with a wealth of baked and slightly raisined cherry fruit, massive texture and a fine, blueberry-fruit freshness. There is an appealingly direct acidity, cutting through a dark yet sweet charcoal-tinged substance, although the fruit is not so well defined as it is with the Amarones, despite it being less dominated by alcohol, having a mere 13.5%. A little savoury, high-toned too, with some good grip at the end. Nice length. 15.5+/20