Quintarelli
by Tom Wolf
If you are new to the revered reds of Quintarelli, you are in for a treat: there is nothing else quite like them in the world. Whether you’re in Burgundy, Bordeaux, the Rhône, or Piemonte, the nectar in your glass was made by growing, harvesting, and sorting grapes, followed by pressing, fermenting, and aging the fresh juice in some kind of vessel. These steps are pretty much the same everywhere.
By contrast, to make Amarone, the Quintarelli family, and their peers in the Valpolicella region east of Lake Garda in northern Italy, follow an ancient winemaking method whereby they air-dry some grapes after harvest and before fermentation. During this process, called appassimento, the fruit loses up to 40% of its water content, leaving the remaining juice more concentrated. If elegance is the goal, this step is the equivalent of moving from the three-point line to half-court or even farther back to try and make a shot: for all but the most talented, it is impossible to both follow this style and craft gorgeous, balanced wines. But when a star steps up and succeeds, the result is all the more mesmerizing. Vintage after vintage, Quintarelli—the region’s most storied producer—succeeds in making simultaneously powerful, finessed, and kaleidoscopic reds. The results are delicious and mind-bending, and they stand tall among the world’s most exquisite and memorable wines.
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