The vineyards from which the fine grapes are obtained are located in three different valleys to the east of Verona, namely the valleys of Mezzane, Marcellise and Tregnago/Illasi, which are very different from each other in terms of exposure, altitude and type of soil. It is precisely this diversity that gives rise to different varietal profiles that render the wine rich, complex and at the same time harmonious.

The selection of the vines, with an average age of about 30 years, cultivated mainly using the pergola system but also the guyot system, is monitored by agronomists with great care in all seasons, to bring the grapes to the harvest healthy and rich. Hand-picked with extreme care, the grapes are left to rest in the “fruttai” (large rooms with controlled temperature and humidity) for about two months, before being pressed for a perfect drying process, and then undergo a long and slow fermentation in stainless steel tanks, with continuous and delicate pumping over the skins to extract only the noblest components. The wine is aged in large wooden barrels of French and Eastern European origin, which are preferable to barriques as they bring out the fruit more than the tannin. After the two years of ageing required by the production regulations, the wine is at its maximum intensity and this is where the winemaker has the opportunity to show his skills, expertly mixing different varieties and origins in order to obtain the maximum expressiveness of the wine itself. It then spends a further two years maturing in wooden barrels before being bottled.

Representing the excellence of Amarone production cultivated in a vast territory, only 15,000 bottles of Amarone Riserva DOCG 2015 Castelforte are destined for the European and overseas markets, a great vintage rewarded by a climate that created the most favourable conditions for the cultivation and ripening of the grapes.

Castelforte Amarone Riserva is a full-bodied wine that expresses great elegance and finesse, with clear aromas of ripe red fruits such as black cherry and preserved morello cherry, and plum jam combined with spicy notes of cinnamon. In the mouth, hints of liquorice and bitter cocoa are accompanied by extremely pleasant tannin that caresses the palate.

“Castelforte Amarone Riserva is the flagship of our production” comments Cantine Riondo’s General Manager Gianfranco Gambesi. “We are proud to present the best interpretation of Castelforte Amarone, the result of our constant search for elegance, faithfulness to the varietal profile and exaltation of the natural expression of fruit in this great wine.”