Valpolicella. Giuseppe Quintarelli
If there are 5 names of Italian winemakers that you should know Giuseppe Quintarelli is definitely one of them, as he produced one of the most famous Amarone della Valpolicella.
One of my last trips, shortly before the C-19 pandemic began in Europe was to go skiing in the Italian Alps. One way to get there is through the lovely city of Valdobbiadene but I will keep this for another post. The other, slightly longer, itinerary is to get there through Valpolicella region near lake Garda. So the idea was to learn the history and the people who are in charge of the most famous and prestigious winery in Valpolicella region – Quintarelli.
It is very difficult to write something meaningful about this special place. After all, it is not only about the sheer amount of very detailed and amazing articles describing the place which you can easily find on the internet. More importantly it is the wine that speaks for itself and can often transgress even the greatly written post. Nicknamed „Maestro del Veneto” or „Bepi” (exclusively by his family) had certainly one word missing in his dictionary – compromise, especially when it came to the quality of his wines. Cutting grape yields drastically, working intensively in the vineyards and later on in the cellar, aging the wines much longer than necessary (Quintarelli’s basic Valpolicella is aged longer than some producers age their Amarone!). I asked Francesco what his grandfather's favourite wine was and with some hesitation he replied: his recioto.
Allow me to start with a few facts that might not be so ubiquitously well known. Giuseppe Quintarelli does not have a website. As clarified by the manager of the estate (Giuseppe grandson Francesco) they are in no need of additional marketing. The quality of the product is the ultimate marketing tool. You can visit the winery, even if you are not a connected person in the world of wine. However please do not forget to make an appointment first. I strongly recommend you to take a trip into the cellars which comes along with a wine tasting of six labels. The cellar is not only astounding, you will also get a chance to try the wines of the master in his own part of the cellar where he used to taste his wines. If you see the Quintarelli label „Rosso del Bepi” it is actually their declassified Amarone. If any given vintage was not deemed worthy to carry the name Amarone it was declassified to Veneto IGT.
Now about the great man himself… Giuseppe was born in 1927 in Negrar – the very same village where the winery is located. It is uncertain what is the real origin of the name – the most common story says it comes from people from Africa that were brought to the village as slave labour. One of the barrels in the cellar is actually depicting this. Ever since joining his father at the estate in the 1950s he was always relentless in his pursuit of improving quality on all fronts. His commitment extended far beyond the vineyards and the cellar. He wanted to have specially selected bottles and corks. And then there were the labels… I very much doubt that there is anyone who is even mildly interested in wine and hasn’t seen at least once the lovely hand written label of his wines. At the beginning all of the labels were handwritten by Giuseppe and four of his daughters (Fiorenza – Francesco's mother is currently running the winery). Some of the handwritten labels can be seen while touring the cellar.
The portfolio of labels at Quintarelli is impressive. The flagship wines are still the Valpolicella blends (Valpolicella Classico Superiore, Amarone della Valpolicella, Recioto della Valpolicella). They consist of approximately 55% Corvina and Corvinone, 30% of Rondinella and 15% of less common grapes. The wine making method is almost exclusively appasimento (drying the grapes before pressing). The only exception being Primofiore. The total size of the vineyards is approximately 11 hectares. The aging occurs mostly in large Slavonian oak barrels with the exception of Alzero where barriques are put into the mix.
Bianco Secco Ca’ del Merlo IGT – the only white wine produced by Quintarelli.
Primofiore IGT – the entry level red wine. It is a blend of Corvina / Corvinone and Caberenet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc at the 50/50 ratio.
Valpolicella Classico Superiore DOC – the famous valpolicella with a distinctive green label. Fermentation with indigeneous yeasts after 4 days of maceration. Seven years of aging in large Slavonian oak barrels.
Rosso Ca’ del Merlo IGT – Valpolicella blend with the addition of Bordeaux grapes.
Rosso del Bepi IGT – As mentioned previously there is no hesitation from Quintarelli to declassify the wine if it is not up to the high standard. Poor vintages are skipped altogether while average vintage becomes Rosso del Bepi. Fermentation lasts 45 days and it is aged for seven years.
Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOC – the flagship wine is only produced in exceptional years. The same rules apply as to Rosso del Bepi, however the vintage must be deemed worthy.
Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva DOC – If the vintage is truly exceptional Quintarelli can bottle Amarone Riserva. Usually the number of bottles is extremely small (2009 vintage which we bought only had 3500 bottles produced). For Riserva the special barrel is Selected by the family.
Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOC “Selezione Giuseppe Quintarelli” – the most unique offering from Quintarelli comes from a barrel that was selected by Giuseppe himself. According to Giuseppe this was one of the best barrels of his illustrious career.
Recioto della Valpolicella Classico DOC – the famous sweet wine from Veneto – the grandfather of Amarone. Due to the wine being sweet it has to have substantial levels of residual sugar after fermentation. Wine is aged for six years in large Slavonian oak.
Alzero Cabernet IGT – Bordeaux grape varieties (40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Carbernet Franc, 20% Merlot) made with appasimento. The wine spends up to three years in a barrique before being transferred over to large Slavonian oak for four years.
In the end I have decided to buy a bottle of Amarone Riserva 2009 which is very special not only because of the label. It is a wine made exclusively by the master and his enologist Robert Ferrarini so it holds a great promise. Even though all the wines were sublime, I actually need to get back and buy a bottle of recioto and also learn what’s new from Francesco. Special thanks to Fiorenza and Francesco for hosting me, I can’t wait to be back!
