Tommasi

Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2018

Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG

Download

Tommasi’s traditional approach to Amarone favors elegance and balance, with deep fruit complemented by spicy, earthy flavors. The grapes come from the family’s choicest plots in the Valpolicella Classica region. Through its commitment to quality and tradition, Tommasi has established itself as one of the principal ambassadors of Amarone in the world.

 

 

Vineyard

The best clusters are selected exclusively by hand from Tommasi’s top two vineyards in the five key valleys (also known as fingers) in the Valpolicella Classica area: La Groletta, a south-facing hillside vineyard close to Lake Garda, and la Conca d’Oro, a terraced vineyard which translates to “the golden shell.”

Winemaking

After harvest, the grapes are placed on small racks in a large grape-drying room known as a fruttaio, where they are dried by cool autumn and winter breezes until the following February. Over these months the grapes lose about 50% of their weight, concentrating the level of natural sugar. After a fermentation period lasting 20 days, the wine is aged for 3 years in large 35-hectoliter Slavonian oak casks, followed by one year in bottle.

Vintage

Budding took place during the first week of April and flowering was a few days earlier than the historical average. The slightly delayed veraison ended in mid-August. The high temperatures in August, above the seasonal average, allowed a good ripening of the grapes and an acceleration of the ripening itself, resulting in a earlier harvest, right at the beginning of September. Grapes displayed high polyphenols and great acidity levels. Valpolicella wines from vintage 2018 offer interesting and complex fruit aromatics and, in particular, the Amarone Classico has a marked acidity that gives freshness and great aging potential.

Tasting Note

Very intense ruby ​​red color. The nose reveals a tempting range of cherries and flavors of fig pie with
accents of thyme, pomegranate and espresso. In the mouth it is full-bodied with good acidity, which accentuates and perpetuates the flavors. The entire tasting is enhanced with a very pleasant tannic texture, that fades towards a spicy finish of excellent persistence.

Food Pairing

TOMMASI Amarone is a wine which one can proudly serve on special occasions, particularly with red meats, game and ripe cheeses. But it can also be sipped an ideal companion to enjoyable conversation.

Color

Red

Grape Varieties

Corvina, Corvinone, Oseleta, Rondinella

Appellation

Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG

Farming

Biological Pest Control

Alcohol

15%

Suggested Retail Price

$84.00

Reviews

"Textbook Amarone"

James Suckling - September 13, 2022

"Savory berries and dried blackberries on the nose, together with oranges, dark chocolate and dry earth. Full-bodied and fine-grained palate, with a tight structure and fantastic balance, which indicates good aging potential. Long and savory, yet reserved. A textbook Amarone with freshness, savoriness and concentration." -J.S 8/22

"Plum and espresso"

Wine & Spirits - February 10, 2023

"Notes of grilled game, tobacco and bitter chocolate balance this Amarone’s rich flavors of plum and espresso. Dense, chewy tannins frame the flavors as hints of anise and black pepper linger on the finish." -S.J 2/23

"Exotic spices, sweet herbs"

Vinous - March 27, 2023

"More like a spiced herbal tea than wine, the 2018 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico wafts up with exotic spices, sweet herbs, cedar shavings and dried black cherries. It washes across the palate with silky textures, taking on a more tactile feel as masses of intense wild berry fruits saturate. Notes of mocha and rum-soak black currant are left lingering as the 2018 finishes lightly structured and buzzing with residual tension. This young Amarone is geared up for a long and steady evolution. Nicely done." -E.G 3/23

Trade Materials

Videos

Other Wines by this Producer

Ripasso Valpolicella

Valpolicella Classico Superiore DOC

This wine is made by refermenting the juice from the Valpolicella on the warm Amarone grape skins, in the typical “Ripasso” method, which imparts a rich character and personality to the wine. The grapes for the Ripasso Valpolicella are sourced from three of most prestigious Tommasi vineyards: Conca d’Oro, La Groletta and De Buris.

Lugana Le Fornaci

Lugana DOC

Le Fornaci hails from Lugana, a trendy, growing appellation on the southern shores of Lake Garda. Tommasi has long owned an estate in the village of San Martino della Battaglia, where they produce elegant white wines made from the indigenous and largely unknown Turbiana grape.

Rafaèl Valpolicella Classico Superiore

This Valpolicella comes from the historical Tommasi family vineyard, Rafaèl. Perfectly situated on one of the region’s most famous hills, Monte Masua, it produces what may be the best grapes for the production of Valpolicella Classico Superiore.

Le Rosse Pinot Grigio

DOC delle Venezie

This Valpolicella Pinot Grigio can be described as sitting between the richer, more concentrated Pinot Grigio from Friuli to the north, and racier styles from the Veneto at large. The nose is spicy with hints of tropical fruit, the flavors clean and crisp, and the body round and soft with a crisp finish.

Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva Ca’ Florian

Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG

Ca' Florian is the feather in the cap of the Tommasi family's production in Valpolicella. Amarone Riserva “Ca ‘Florian” is made with selected grapes from one of the oldest vineyards owned by the Tommasi family. The grapes come from vines with an average age of 30 years.

De Buris Amarone Riserva

Amarone della Valpolicella DOC

De Buris is a timeless wine and a new classic. It is the culmination of the talent, passion, patience, and discipline of the Tommasi family in making Amarone, and an homage to the Valpolicella region and its great winemaking potential.

Filodora Prosecco DOC

Prosecco DOC

Tommasi Filodora represents the best of Prosecco: coming from Conegliano-Valdobbiadene, the most prestigious areas of the Prosecco appellation, this fresh sparkling wine is the perfect sparkler for any occasion. The wine has been part of the Tommasi portfolio since 2012, when the winery celebrated its 110th anniversary; it was important to the family to begin producing wine in the area that their home region of the Veneto is perhaps best known for.

Le Prunee Merlot

delle Venezie IGT

This easy drinking red is a pure expression of Merlot from Northeast Italy with mineral tones as well as flavors of plump cherry, blackberry jam and almond. Le Prunee is a single-vineyard Merlot grown at the Prunea estate in the Sant’Ambrogio valley of Valpolicella Classica.

Le Volpare Soave Classico

Soave Classico DOC

This 100% single-vineyard Garganega is a perfect representation of the Veneto's defining white wine. Though a pure pleasure to drink on its own, the wine's moderate acidity, elegant perfume and high concentration of aromatic compounds makes it a versatile paring wine as well.