Corte Giara, Amarone della Valpolicella

The grapes for the Cortegiara Amarone are grown in vineyards located in the hills of the Valpolicella area, in Colline di Grezzana, Montorio and Marcellise. The vineyards are situated at 180-250 metres above sea level and face south-east, on chalky, well-drained soils. They are pergola trained, with about 3,000 vines per hectare. The vines are 31 years old on average and are pruned with 14-15 buds per fruiting cane.

The 2022 winter was cold and dry. The lack of rainfall during the winter and a rise in temperatures at the beginning of the spring, meant an early start of the growing season, almost 20 days before average. The spring was followed by a vicious heatwave so a good canopy management and effective emergency irrigation systems in the vineyards, were fundamental to survive the heat. Despite the efforts, some fruit was inevitably lost due to below average yields, but the fruit still showed a great fruit concentration.

The grapes were picked in late September and dried in Allegrini's Appassimento center - a humidity-controlled drying facility in Fumane - for three months. During this period grapes lost 40% of their weight. Grapes were gently crushed before underwent fermentation, in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks at 8°-22°C for 22-24 days. Daily pumping overs were carried out, to extract good levels of colour and tannins. The wine was then aged for five months in stainless steel tanks, 15 months in oak – half in large Slavonian oak barrels, half in second use barriques - and a further six months in bottle before release.