45% Corvina, 30% Corvinone, 25% Rondinella

"Another fine Amarone showing prodigious complexity, refinement and scintillating length. Oak-derived coffee bean aromas nestle amid camphor, cloves, licorice, menthol and alpine amaro liqueur. This feels sweeter, richer and more primary than its 2012 Riserva sibling, yet with no less capacity to develop beautifully over time. I look forward to greater complexity, sure to come with further bottle development. Drinkable now, but best from 2029." -James Suckling

• Tommaso Bussola is now often mentioned along with Giuseppe Quintarelli and Dal Forno Romano as the top estates in the Valpolicella appellation
• A former stonemason, Tommaso inherited the estate of his uncle and quickly took it to the top levels of the appellation
• The wines are exuberant and rich though they retain a freshness that gives them balance and drinkability
• The estate is fortunate to have some of the top vineyards in the appellation as well as very old vines

Harvest

The grapes to produce Amarone Classico "Vigneto Alto" are selected in the middle of September. They’re brought in the Fruttaio and left in wooden plateaux where they are left to dry naturally for 4 months (pictured above).

Winemaking

In January the grapes are carefully selected and pressed in truncated cone oak vats where, after about 15 days, fermentation starts with indigenous yeasts. In the following 60 days several pumping-overs and delestage for the skins submersion are performed. The wine is then racked off and moved in a steel tank where its gross lees is decanted off. After about 20 days it is racked off again and moved to wooden barrels where fermentation and aging are completed.

Aging

90 months of aging: 40 months 2,25 Hl in new barriques, 50 months in 25 Hl in barrel. The Amarone Classico "Vigneto Alto" is bottled after 9 years of aging and it stays 2 years in bottle before being sold.