Vintage: 2020

VintageProduct CodeFormatClosureAvailability
2020AZ110B206 x 75Natural CorkAvailable
Vegetarian
Vegan
Producer

Alpha Zeta was conceived in 1999 when Liberty Wines set out to produce a range of modern, fruit-driven wines from the hills outside Verona. Working with leading New Zealand winemaker Matt Thomson of Blank Canvas, Alpha Zeta works directly with growers rather than buying bulk wine, the standard for most wines from Verona at this price. In doing so, ripe grapes are obtained by reducing yields and picking later, utilising Matt’s expertise to preserve these flavours in the finished wines. As a result, Alpha Zeta continues to offer great value, quality, balance and typicity.

The unoaked Soave is dry, scented and delicious, while the Chardonnay is melony and impressive, offering outstanding value. The Pinot Grigio, made solely from grapes grown on hillside vineyards in the Alpone Valley, is balanced and quaffable with a lovely pear and bread crust character on the nose and palate. The ‘Terrapieno’ Pinot Grigio is a testament to the close collaboration between Matt and his grower. Having discovered the quality of the fruit from this vineyard, Matt decided to bottle it separately, creating a wine with great intensity and a silky texture. The reds are equally impressive. The Valpolicella has bright, black cherry fruit and velvety tannins, while the Ripasso is silky and scented. The Amarone is one of the best-value Amarones on the market.

Vineyards

The vineyards are situated at 100-400 metres above sea level in the hills outside Verona, in the Valpantena Valley, on south/south-east facing slopes. Cool breezes blow down the valley from the foothills of the Dolomites, which moderate the climate, enabling the grapes to ripen and helping them to retain their aromatic compounds and acidity. The soil is poor and chalky so the vines are put under stress and produce superior quality fruit. The vines are 20-30 years old on average and are trained using both the traditional Pergola Veronese and Guyot systems.

Vintage

Vintage 2020 started with a cool and wet spring, which allowed a good flowering. Summer was not too warm. There were two cases of hail at the beginning of harvest but luckily, most of the vines were unaffected. At harvest grapes were at a perfect level of ripening, with a great colour. The production was on average in terms of quantity.

Vinification

Selected grapes were hand harvested in mid-September and left to dry in specially ventilated rooms until the end of January. During this time the grapes lost about 40% of their natural weight. The grapes were destemmed and crushed at the end of January. Fermentation temperature was between 18-20°C with daily periodic pumping over, while the length of maceration was 20 days. This Amarone was matured in French oak barriques for 18 months and transferred into concrete tanks for final filtration before bottling.

Tasting Notes & Technical Details

This Amarone is deep and intense on the nose with aromas of dried cherries, plums, spiced autumn fruit compote and chocolate. On the palate, it is powerful with a lovely balance of ripe, silky tannins and a spiced, concentrated savoury cherry fruit character. A touch of woodsmoke completes the long finish.

Alcohol (ABV)

15%

Acidity

5.75 g/l

Residual Sugar

5.5 g/l

pH

3.35

Other wines from this producer

Producer
Wine
Product Code
Features
Style
Alpha Zeta`V` ValpolicellaAZ102
Vegetarian
Vegan
R
Red
Factsheet
`C` ChardonnayAZ103
Vegetarian
Vegan
W
White
Factsheet
`C` CorvinaAZ105
Vegetarian
Vegan
R
Red
`G` GarganegaAZ106
Vegetarian
Vegan
W
White
`P` Pinot GrigioAZ107
Vegetarian
Vegan
W
White
`R` RosatoAZ108
Vegetarian
Vegan
Ro
Rosé
`S` SoaveAZ111
W
White
`R` Valpolicella Superiore RipassoAZ117
Vegetarian
Vegan
R
Red
Factsheet
`Terrapieno` Pinot GrigioAZ142
Vegetarian
Vegan
W
White