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The Veneto’s king of wines, Amarone is made from grapes that are partially dried before pressing, giving an immensely powerful, luscious red with decadent black cherry jam flavours and a long, mellow finish.
This is a powerful wine and needs strong flavours such as those of game, roasted red meats or mature cheeses to match its richness, although with a few crackers and fruit, or a slice of fruit cake, it makes a robust digestif too.
Amarone developed as the Veneto's winemakers looked for a way to increase the body, complexity and alcohol content of their (light, not always satisfying) Valpolicella wines. They began drying their grapes after harvest, to concentrate the crop.
The technique proved very successful, although initially it was used to produce sweeter styles of wine known today as Recioto della Valpolicella. In fact the early Amarones were seen as mistakes—Reciotos that had been left to ferment for too long; but eventually the new, drier style gained respect in its own right.
Amarone grapes are picked in whole bunches and kept in warm drying rooms where they stay on racks for a few months. When that process is complete, the grapes are pressed and the must is fermented to dryness, resulting in a powerful, rich, alcoholic (15-16% ABV) wine.
Ageing is for two years in either large botti or, increasingly, smaller Slavonian oak barriques. The Tezzas allow this wine to age for eighteen months in oak and twelve in bottle prior to release.
The Tezza family's 25-hectare estate is just outside the historic heart of Valpolicella in the sheltered microclimate of the Valpantena valley. Their cantina is an intriguing mix of modern and traditional, with ancient cement cisterns alongside gleaming steel vats and giant oak casks. Some of the vines are planted in the classic pergola method, where the grapes hang high, protected from both sun and humidity, while the rest have been converted to the much lower French guyot system, which is tantamount to heresy for old-fashioned winemakers. The three Tezza brothers began their winery in 1965, and now it is run by their three sons, Flavio, Vanio and Federico. Vanio says: "We are against the present trend of a dolcevalpolicella and amarone, which many winemakers seem to think the market wants, and we prefer to produce wines to our own principles, with plenty of tannin to age well, and drier." Don't miss their intense 2009 Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso, and the 2003 Amarone is worth splashing out on.
Orders of €150+: free delivery in Ireland and Northern Ireland
All other orders: €15 flat rate delivery in Ireland and Northern Ireland
Orders are usually dispatched in the first two working days after receipt.
We cannot guarantee delivery on a given day. If the delivery date is important, please let us know, and we'll put one of our 'Not to Be Opened Before' stickers on the box and aim for delivery a day or two early.
Your orders are delivered by courier to ensure fast and reliable delivery of each carefully packaged consignment. Because nobody likes breakages, we use very strong and secure packaging specially designed to protect wine bottles.
Pulpsafe boxes are recycled, recyclable and very strong
Personalised champagne orders are dispatched to anticipate your requested deadline (see above), or otherwise as soon as possible. Please allow at least one extra working day for these orders to be prepared.
Eircodes please
The ideal delivery address has someone available to sign for parcels during office hours, so a work address may be a better choice than a home address. An Eircode eliminates any doubt about the delivery location, and you can find or check Eircodes here.
Phone numbers please
Our couriers do their best to deliver and often have amazing local knowledge, but in the event of difficulties a reliable telephone number for the recipient makes all the difference and is a required piece of information. A mobile number is usually best.
Track your order
When we dispatch your order, we send on a tracking code so that you can follow your order in transit on the courier's website.
Delivery outside Ireland
If you need delivery to Northern Ireland, our €15 standard rate applies, with orders of €150 and more travelling free—for the time being.
We do not generally send wine overseas because of the complicated bureaucratic requirements and very high cost. If you would nonetheless like more information about deliveries outside the island of Ireland, please ask.
Returns
Faulty bottles
Wine is a natural product: its variety is what makes it so interesting!
Sometimes, though, a faulty bottle turns up. It's rare, but it does happen.
We want you to enjoy the wines you buy from us, and we'd like you to enjoy doing business with us too.
If you are unlucky enough to receive a bad bottle, please let us know immediately by calling the office on 021 431 6000 and we'll arrange a replacement or issue a credit in compensation.
Broken or Damaged Deliveries
Despite our best efforts to wrap and pack securely, damage in transit occurs from time to time.
If there's a breakage, our couriers will normally return the whole fragrant mess to us straight away.
If, however, the damage isn't apparent until you open the box, we'd still prefer to have the whole parcel collected. We'll send you a replacement as soon as possible.
Pulpsafe boxes are recycled, recyclable and very strong
