GIUSEPPE QUINTARELLI UK PRIVATE CUSTOMER EXCLUSIVITY
"Quintarelli was an original and so are his wines." ANTONIO GALLONI
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FRANCESCO GRIGOLI, FEBRUARY 2020
JUST IN TIME... My final wine trip before the Coronavirus curtain came down, in February 2020, was to this magical corner of north-eastern Italy. Over the past four years that we have been Quintarelli’s exclusive UK agent for private customers, this annual tasting session with Francesco Grigoli has become a highlight of the winter months. Francesco is the grandson of the great Giuseppe ‘Bepi’ Quintarelli and has run the estate admirably since the latter’s death in 2012. My fellow taster on this visit was Bryce Fraser, Managing Director of C&B in Scotland and northern England. As we drove out of Verona towards the Negrar valley, some 20 minutes to the north, the crisp, clear morning bore no hint that the region was weeks away from being overwhelmed with virus. Writing this at a time of crisis, it is almost too easy to draw a parallel between a world in flux and, at nearly a century old, the steadfast Cantina Giuseppe Quintarelli. These wines achieved their standing through unwavering belief in the admirably quirky styles of Valpolicella. They are now recognised as classics, benchmarks for a type of winemaking which is utterly unique to these hills and valleys. These new releases for 2020 are as good as we could have hoped. As always, there is a range of vintages in this offer due to the various ageing periods of the different styles. The tasting notes are a bit longer than in some offers, as the wines need proper explanation. For any remaining questions, please just pick up the phone to us!
GUY SEDDON May 2020
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VALPOLICELLA Literally the valley of many cellars (val-poli-cella), this charmed enclave lies to the north of Verona and the east of Lake Garda. The rugged Lissini Mountains jut like dogs’ teeth on the horizon. On a clear day, the snow-capped peaks of the Alps are visible. The region comprises three main valleys: the Fumane, the Marano and the Negrare. Quintarelli lies in the latter, in the comune of Negrar. There are diverse opinions as to the origin of the name Negrar, one being that it derives from the Arusnati people who inhabited the region in
Roman times. This heritage is celebrated at Quintarelli in the carved fascias of their beautiful Slavonian oak botti (vats). Created in 1968, the Valpolicella Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) covers some three and a half thousand hectares, with the theoretically superior Valpolicella Classico DOC extending to almost the same area. In this most permissive of regulatory contexts, producer is everything: there are Valpolicellas and Valpolicellas‌
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THE NEGRAR VALLEY, SEEN FROM THE CANTINA, FEBRUARY 2020
HISTORY Founded in 1924, the cantina was taken over by the 22 year-old Giuseppe Quintarelli in 1950. The learning curve must have been steep for a young man, but he rapidly became the reference point for Valpolicella, both in Italy and abroad. At once conservative and experimental, Giuseppe introduced non-native grape varieties to the estate. Alongside his traditional Amarone Classico is ‘Alzero’, his unique Amarone-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Similarly, the estate’s Valpolicella Classico Superiore sits beside ‘Primofiore’, a half-native, half-Cabernet blend. Giuseppe also produced small quantities of a white wine, ‘Bianco Secco’, using
Garganega and a rare local grape called Saorin. Following Giuseppe’s death in 2012, the two successive generations have taken over. At the forefront is Giuseppe’s elder grandson, Francesco Grigoli, aided by his enologist brother Lorenzo and their parents Fiorenza (Giuseppe’s daughter) and Gianpaolo. The estate’s longstanding enologist, Roberto Ferrarini, died in 2014, just two years after his employer and close friend. The winemaking is now carried out by a group of his disciples – the word is apt, such is the reverence for both Ferrarini and Quintarelli here.
VITICULTURE Traditional pergola trellising prevails in Valpolicella. Vines are trained high from the ground into long tunnellike structures, inside which the grapes dangle from shady ceilings of foliage. This intricate system requires an elaborate supporting framework. Although lush in summer, in winter these trellising structures give the eerie appearance of rows and rows of crucifixes.
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Quintarelli has 11 hectares of vines, whose average age is around 30 years. Soils are limestone and basalt. Black grape plantings comprise the indigenous Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella and Croatina, alongside Merlot and Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc. There is even some Nebbiolo and Sangiovese. White grapes include Garganega, Trebbiano Toscano,
Sauvignon Bianco, Chardonnay and Saorin. The aim is to have eight to ten bunches per vine. Picking is late, usually culminating in the first two weeks of October. A well-aerated canopy is crucial to avoid botrytis. Multiple passes through the vineyards are made. The first selection is of the best, ripest grapes, destined
for the Amarone and Alzero. The berries from the second pass will become Valpolicella. The third is for grapes which will be used for the fresh young wines. Average yields are around 8,000 kilograms of grapes per hectare, with the resulting volume of wine varying with the degree of raisining.
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CANTINA GIUSEPPE QUINTARELLI. THE GRAPE DRYING ROOMS ARE ON THE TOP LEVEL.
THE CELLAR The estate buildings lie at the end of a discreet driveway. Opposite the newly extended cellar and reception area is a terrace with breathtaking views of the valley and the preAlpine Lissini Mountains. The three story edifice comprises subterranean cellars, offices and a laboratory/labelling area on the ground floor, with the grape drying rooms above. All of the grapes destined for the Amarone styles (including Alzero), and some of those which will become Valpolicella, are dried on straw matting in the upper part of the cantina. This process is known as appassimento, which sounds complicated, but just means raisining of grapes after picking (an uva passa being a raisin). This concentrates the sugars and flavours. In addition, the ripasso technique is used in the Valpolicella Classico Superiore. This is another Valpolicella speciality, in which freshly fermented wine is ‘re-passed’ over unpressed Amarone skins. This kick-starts a second fermentation which bolsters the body of the resulting wine, as well as imparting some raisined character and raising the alcohol content (although only marginally, by around 1% at Quintarelli). Ageing takes place in Slavonian oak botti, for varying periods. The Amarone and Alzero spend some seven years in oak. Production is tiny: an average of 5,000 cases of 12 bottles are produced per year. The labels were previously handwritten, a tradition which has been enshrined in the cantina’s instantly recognisable jagged-edged labels.
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TASTING NOTES
BIANCO SECCO 2018
VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO SUPERIORE 2012
Around 80% Garganega, the remainder being Trebbiano Toscano, Sauvignon Bianco, Chardonnay and Saorin, this is the only white in the Quintarelli line-up. A winning combination of zesty green citrus, lime peel and fleshier apricot and peach, which lends a succulence to the palate. Breadth from a pinch of passito (dried grapes). 10-15% is now aged in large (20 hectolitre) old oak botti, which further rounds out the texture. This was bottled in June 2019. The only Quintarelli wine to offer a ‘serving suggestion’ on the label: “for aperitifs, antipasti and fish”. 1984 was the first vintage.
55% Corvina and Corvinone, 30% Rondinella and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, Nebbiolo, Croatina and Sangiovese. Half of the grapes received two months’ drying. Half of the fermenting wine was passed over Amarone skins, the traditional ripasso method, bolstering both body and raisined complexity. Dried spices, tobacco leaf, fennel, leather and dark fruited aromas. 2012 was a warmer year, visible in the palate’s intense, red berried density. Tomato leaf and bitter cherry detailing. A succulent, even carnal expression of Valpolicella. “Vivid” was Francesco’s word – spot-on. 20,000 bottles were made of this, accounting for around a third of the estate’s production. Six years in Slavonian oak botti.
Corney & Barrow Score 17+ Recommended drinking from 2021 - 2024 £155/Case of 6 bottles, in bond UK £75/Case of 1 magnum, in bond UK
Corney & Barrow Score 18 Recommended drinking from 2021 - 2027 £345/Case of 6 bottles, in bond UK £145/Case of 1 magnum, in bond UK
PRIMOFIORE 2016
ROSSO CÀ DEL MERLO 2012
Primofiore, literally “first flower”, is 50% Corvina and Corvinone, 50% Cabernet (Sauvignon and Franc). The Cabernet grapes are dried on straw matting for two months, whilst the Corvina and Corvinone are fermented without raisining. The resulting blend is aged for two years in large old Slavonian oak botti. A juicy wine which abounds in crunchy cherry fruit – red and bitter cherries – with dark chocolate adding a touch of luxury. Francesco Grigoli commented that the style of Primofiore is becoming more youthful and fresh-fruited with time. Bottled January 2019. Around 120 hectolitres per year are made, equivalent to some 16,000 bottles.
Cà del Merlo, made since 1980, means house of the blackbird and refers to the site from where these grapes come. 55% Corvina and Corvinone, 15% Rondinella, 10% Cabernet (Sauvignon and Franc), 15% Merlot and 5% Nebbiolo, Croatina and Sangiovese. Winemaking is similar to the Valpolicella Classico Superiore, but the inclusion of 15% Merlot brings a red-fruited fleshiness. Mint leaf and nettles on the nose, the Cabernet coming through. The palate shows pencil lead and fleshy raspberry, with firmer tannins than the Valpolicella. A more serious, rigorous wine this year, but you feel the structure will soften soon to allow that trademark succulence to emerge.
Corney & Barrow Score 17.5 Recommended drinking from 2020 - 2025
Corney & Barrow Score 17++ Recommended drinking from 2021 - 2029
£210/Case of 6 bottles, in bond UK
£345/Case of 6 bottles, in bond UK
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Tasting Guide Our tasting notes provide full details but, at your request, we have also introduced a clear and simple marking system. We hope these guidelines assist you in your selection. For the benefit of simplicity, wines are scored out of 20. We will often use a range of scores (e.g. 16.5 to 17) to indicate the potential to achieve a higher mark. When a ‘+’ is shown it adds further to that potential. Wines from lesser vintages will, inevitably, show a lower overall score. Wines are judged, in a very broad sense, against their peers. Why? Well, you cannot easily compare a Ford with an Aston Martin, other than they are both cars and have wheels. It is not that different with wine. A score is a summary only. The devil is in the detail, so please focus on the tasting notes and, as always, speak to our sales team.
ROSSO DEL BEPI 2010 Rosso del Bepi is made in vintages falling just short of an Amarone but which warrant a separate wine. Something of a rarity – the previous vintages were 2008 and 2005. The berries received four months’ drying and eight years’ maturation in Slavonian oak botti. In addition, the ripasso method is used here, re-passing and re-fermenting the wine on the recently-pressed skins of an older Amarone. 2010 was Francesco Grigoli’s first vintage. A complex, brightly berried nose, with intense kirsch, leather and violets. The tannins are fine and fruit-coated, supporting the astonishing freshness and vitality of the palate, which finishes long and focused, dried herbs lingering. Corney & Barrow Score 17.5 Recommended drinking from 2021 - 2030 £630/Case of 6 bottles, in bond UK £245/Case of 1 magnum, in bond UK
AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO RISERVA 2009 The Riserva is made only three times per decade on average. The grape blend here is identical to the ‘basic’ Classico bottling, but this superior cuvée is given an additional two years’ ageing in botti, making a total of nine years in oak. 55% Corvina and Corvinone, 30% Rondinella, with the remaining 15% made up of Cabernet, Nebbiolo, Croatina and Sangiovese. An intricate nose of flinty, crushed-rock minerality. Vivacious acidity on the joyously-fruited palate is held in check by firm, fruitinfused tannins, which channel the raspberry flavours through to an intricate back-palate. Each bottle has been numbered by hand, as always. Corney & Barrow Score 18.5 Recommended drinking from 2021 - 2035 £2,525/Case of 6 bottles, in bond UK
ALZERO 2009 Alzero (pronounced with the stress on the ‘A’) is a blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot. A lifted, bitter cherry, mentholated nose, with dark chocolate and liquorice. The full bodied palate is drivingly powerful, with a pliancy of dark undergrowthy, brambly fruit. A richer, more potent wine than the Amarone, bolstered by a just-off-dry 6g/l residual sugar. Whilst last year (2008 vintage), the Amarone and the Alzero bore a certain resemblance to one another, in the 2009 vintage, there is a more marked stylistic divide. This is an Alzero that rejoices in Cabernet. Corney & Barrow Score 17.5+ Recommended drinking from 2021 - 2031 £1,595/Case of 6 bottles, in bond UK
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