GIUSEPPE QUINTARELLI UNITED KINGDOM PRIVATE CUSTOMER EXCLUSIVITY
“[Giuseppe Quintarelli’s] way of working has inspired a new generation which, more than ever, wants the wine to be a true expression of terroir.” WALTER SPELLER
THE SHOW GOES ON The stunning new Quintarelli releases prove that the estate’s legacy post-Bepi is secure. Over the past five years that we have been Quintarelli’s exclusive UK agent for private customers, I have not missed an annual tasting session with Francesco Grigoli... until now. So thank you, Francesco and family, for sending us your wines at what is hopefully the tail-end of the Covid era. As the estate releases only mature vintages, we were able to taste the finished wines from bottle – a very welcome change to couriered barrel samples.
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Francesco is the grandson of the great Giuseppe ‘Bepi’ Quintarelli (pictured opposite) and has run the estate with assiduous respect for his grandfather’s memory since his death in 2012. Only in the last couple of years has he has begun to make very small, sensitively judged moves towards approachability and fruit expression in the wines. These wines, which are now rightly recognised as classics, really could not come from anywhere else in the world. They are firmly and quintessentially rooted in Valpolicella – specifically, the beautiful Negrar valley, some 20 minutes to the north of Verona. As always, there is a range of vintages in this offer due to the various ageing periods of the different styles. The wines will arrive soon in our warehouse, so delivery will be available shortly.
GUY SEDDON June 2021
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IL MAESTRO: GIUSEPPE 'BEPI' QUINTARELLI
VALPOLICELLA Literally the valley of many cellars (val-poli-cella), this charmed enclave lies to the north of Verona and the east of Lake Garda. The rugged Lissini Mountains jut like dogs’ teeth on the horizon. On a clear day, the snow-capped peaks of the Alps are visible. The region comprises three main valleys: the Fumane, the Marano and the Negrare. Quintarelli lies in the latter, in the comune of Negrar. There are diverse opinions as to the origin of the name Negrar, one being that it derives from the Arusnati people who inhabited the region in
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Roman times. This heritage is celebrated at Quintarelli in the carved fascias of their beautiful Slavonian oak botti (vats). Created in 1968, the Valpolicella Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) covers some three and a half thousand hectares, with the theoretically superior Valpolicella Classico DOC extending to almost the same area. In this most permissive of regulatory contexts, producer is everything: there are Valpolicellas and Valpolicellas…
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A CANTINA TO ASPIRE TO Founded in 1924, the cantina was taken over by the 22 yearold Giuseppe Quintarelli in 1950. The learning curve must have been steep for a young man, but he rapidly became the reference point for Valpolicella, both in Italy and abroad. At once conservative and experimental, Giuseppe introduced non-native grape varieties to the estate. Alongside his traditional Amarone Classico is ‘Alzero’, his unique Amaronestyle blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Similarly, the estate’s Valpolicella Classico Superiore sits beside ‘Primofiore’, a half-native, half-Cabernet blend. Giuseppe also produced small quantities of a white wine, ‘Bianco Secco’, using Garganega and a rare local grape called Saorin. Following Giuseppe’s death in 2012, the two successive generations have taken over. At the forefront is Giuseppe’s elder grandson, Francesco Grigoli, aided by his enologist brother Lorenzo and their parents Fiorenza (Giuseppe’s daughter) and Gianpaolo. The estate’s longstanding consultant winemaker, Roberto Ferrarini, died in 2014, just two years after his employer and close friend. The winemaking is now carried out by a group of his disciples – the word is apt, such is the reverence for both Ferrarini and Quintarelli here.
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THE VINEYARDS Traditional pergola trellising prevails in Valpolicella. Vines are trained high from the ground into long tunnel-like structures, inside which the grapes dangle from shady ceilings of foliage. This intricate system requires an elaborate supporting framework. Although lush with foliage in summer, in winter these trellising structures give the eerie appearance of rows and rows of crucifixes (see photo on previous page).
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Quintarelli has 11 hectares of vines, whose average age is around 30 years. Soils are limestone and basalt. Black grape plantings comprise the indigenous Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella and Croatina, alongside Merlot and Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc. There is even some Nebbiolo and Sangiovese. White grapes include Garganega, Trebbiano Toscano, Sauvignon Bianco, Chardonnay and Saorin. The aim is to have eight to ten bunches per vine. Picking is late, usually culminating in the first two weeks of October. A well-aerated canopy is crucial to avoid botrytis. Multiple passes through the vineyards are made. The first selection is of the best, ripest grapes, destined for the Amarone and Alzero. The berries from the second pass will become Valpolicella. The third is for grapes which will be used for the fresh young wines. Average yields are around 8,000 kilograms of grapes per hectare, with the resulting volume of wine varying with the degree of raisining.
THE CELLAR The estate buildings lie at the end of a discreet driveway. Opposite the newly extended cellar and reception area is a terrace with breath-taking views of the valley and the pre-Alpine Lissini Mountains. The three story edifice comprises subterranean cellars, offices and a laboratory/ labelling area on the ground floor, with the grape drying rooms above. All of the grapes destined for the Amarone styles (including Alzero), and some of those which will become Valpolicella, are dried on straw matting in the upper part of the cantina. This process is known as appassimento, which sounds complicated, but just means raisining of grapes after picking (an uva passa being a raisin). This concentrates the sugars and flavours.
In addition, the ripasso technique is used in the Valpolicella Classico Superiore. This is another Valpolicella speciality, in which freshly fermented wine is ‘re-passed’ over unpressed Amarone skins. This kick-starts a second fermentation which bolsters the body of the resulting wine, as well as imparting some raisined character and raising the alcohol content (although only marginally, by around 1% at Quintarelli). Ageing takes place in Slavonian oak botti, for varying periods. The Amarone and Alzero spend some seven years in oak. Production is tiny: an average of 5,000 cases of 12 bottles are produced per year. The labels were previously handwritten, a tradition which has been enshrined in the cantina’s instantly recognisable jagged-edged labels.
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TASTING NOTES BIANCO SECCO 2019 80% Garganega, with Trebbiano Toscano, Sauvignon Bianco, Chardonnay and Saorin, this is the only Quintarelli white. Pale gold colour with green tints. Aromas of pastry, green melon, white peach, honey and a floral lift. The palate is zesty, lemon rind and green apple flavours making for a medium bodied dry white of verve. The finish is delightfully waxy, with blanched almonds and white flowers. The Garganega makes this recognisably northern Italian. A pinch of passito (dried grapes) adds weight. 10-15% is aged in old 20 hectolitre botti, further rounding out the texture. Refreshingly low 12.5% abv. Corney & Barrow Score 17+ Recommended drinking from 2021 - 2025 £180/Case of 6 bottles, in bond UK
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PRIMOFIORE 2018 Literally “first flower”, Primofiore is 50% Corvina and Corvinone, 50% Cabernet (Sauvignon and Franc). The Cabernet grapes are dried on straw matting for two months, whilst the Corvina and Corvinone are fermented without raisining. Aged for two years in large old Slavonian oak botti. This is remarkably consistent stylistically – aromas of red and bitter cherry fruit, with the Cabernet adding graphite and a tannic rigour. The fresh fruit purity continues to emerge with each successive vintage under the stewardship of Francesco Grigoli. I love the precise finish, with its twist of orange rind and tangy grapefruit. 14% abv. Corney & Barrow Score 17.5 Recommended drinking from 2021 - 2026 £245/Case of 6 bottles, in bond UK
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Tasting Guide Our tasting notes provide full details but, at your request, we have also introduced a clear and simple marking system. We hope these guidelines assist you in your selection. For the benefit of simplicity, wines are scored out of 20. We will often use a range of scores (e.g. 16.5 to 17) to indicate the potential to achieve a higher mark. When a ‘+’ is shown it adds further to that potential. Wines from lesser vintages will, inevitably, show a lower overall score. Wines are judged, in a very broad sense, against their peers. Why? Well, you cannot easily compare a Ford with an Aston Martin, other than they are both cars and have wheels. It is not that different with wine. A score is a summary only. The devil is in the detail, so please focus on the tasting notes and, as always, speak to our sales team.
VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO SUPERIORE 2013
ROSSO CÀ DEL MERLO 2013
55% Corvina and Corvinone, 30% Rondinella and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, Nebbiolo, Croatina and Sangiovese. Half dried grapes, with half of the fermenting wine passed over Amarone skins, the traditional ripasso method, bolstering both body and raisined complexity. Aromas of red cherry and strawberry, with menthol, dried spices, tobacco leaf and leather. The palate is wonderfully succulent, with fresh acidity lifting the sweet-andsavoury raspberry aromas – even greater purity and fruit focus than the 2012. Fine tannic grip on the back palate. Highly approachable, recognisably Valpolicella but with added gravitas and longevity. This accounts for around a third of the estate’s production. Six years in Slavonian oak botti. 15% abv.
Cà del Merlo, made since 1980, means house of the blackbird and refers to the vineyard site. 55% Corvina and Corvinone, 15% Rondinella, 10% Cabernet (Sauvignon and Franc), 15% Merlot and 5% Nebbiolo, Croatina and Sangiovese. Winemaking is similar to the Valpolicella Classico Superiore, but the inclusion of 15% Merlot brings a red-fruited fleshiness. Complex aromas of flint, cassis, coffee bean and dark cherries, more brooding and mysterious than the Valpolicella… richer and more intense the longer you leave it in the glass. On the palate, the attack is cooly dark fruited, yet with time in the glass, a core of gently insistent, crystalline red berries emerges, lending an ease and suppleness. More approachable than the Valpolicella at this stage, with firm, fine tannins and a persistent fruit sweetness on the finish. 15% abv.
Corney & Barrow Score 17.5 - 18 Recommended drinking from 2022 - 2028 £380/Case of 6 bottles, in bond UK
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Corney & Barrow Score 18 Recommended drinking from 2023 - 2031 £380/Case of 6 bottles, in bond UK
AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO 2012
ALZERO 2011
55% Corvina and Corvinone, 30% Rondinella, with the remaining 15% made up of Cabernet, Nebbiolo, Croatina and Sangiovese. Sweetly, brightly red berried on the nose, with aromas of liquorice, coffee bean and fresh mint underlying the overriding sense of lush sucrosity. The palate is substantial and flavour-packed from the off and yet wonderfully cushioned, the supple entry quickly giving way to a more tannic, assertive mid-palate on which sweet and savoury elements vie for the upper hand. Finishes long and rather majestically driving. As we discussed when tasting, this is perhaps the most quintessential Italian wine – the high acidity, the flavourpacked bitter cherry profile, the leathered, savoury edge. Seven years in old oak botti. 16.5% abv.
Alzero (pronounced with the stress on the ‘A’) is a blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot. The aromas are firmly ‘Cabernet’ – intense cassis and fresh mint leaf, both ripe and herbaceous – you could almost imagine yourself in Bordeaux… The palate is something else though – rich, cushioned and just off-dry, with powerful blackberry and liquorice flavours coating the structured tannins. The finish cuts through the sense of fruit sweetness, a briny-savoury precision reimposing itself. A strident, full bodied wine and, although you couldn’t imagine serving anything else after this, the lasting sensation is one of elegance. 16.5% abv.
Corney & Barrow Score 18.5 Recommended drinking from 2021 - 2035
Corney & Barrow Score 17.5 - 18 Recommended drinking from 2022 - 2032 £1,595/Case of 6 bottles, in bond UK
£1,375/Case of 6 bottles, in bond UK
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