Product Description
“The 2011 Amarone is an outstanding vintage, one of the finest we have seen in years and today we are fortunate to have what is easily the wine of the vintage, the 2011 Bussola Amarone. Tomasso Bussola has for years produced some of the region’s best, but this wine is something truly special. Amarone may have once only been considered as a wine for the winter months but we have noticed that these wines are extraordinary partners with summer and fall grilling. It might be 95 degrees outside but a luscious, thick, delicious Bussola Amarone is going to pair brilliantly with that ribeye, or BBQ ribs. If you decide to hold off and pop a bottle this winter, it is the perfect wine for that beef Brasato all’Amarone. Enjoy!” – Lance Montalto, The Wine House (8/16/17)
FROM THE IMPORTER
Varietal notes: 65% Corvina and Corvinone, 30% Rondinella, 5% Other varieties
Vineyard: Sourced from vineyards ranging from 260-300m in elevation.
Orientation: Southeast.
Soil: Toar (basalt) & chalky gravel. Terraced steep hillside vineyards.
Viticulture: Work in the vineyard is measured by the months and the seasons. In order to avoid excessive impoverishment of the lands, the various soils are periodically analyzed and a programme of interventions with organic fertilizers is drawn up.
Vinification: The grapes are crushed in October and ferment in stainless steel tanks with frequent pumpings over. Following this the wine is racked off the coarse lees. It remains in tank until bottling. The dried grapes are first crushed in January, and continue macerating and fermenting anywhere from 55/60 days up to 80 days, depending on the year.
Aging: The Amarones and Reciotos, after being racked, are separated from the coarse lees after 15 days. They are then put into tonneaux and barriques of oak from various provenances. Here the fermentation proceeds slowly for 24 months or longer. It may even continue as long as 30 months, always on the fine lees. Batonnage is carried out when necessary until the moment of bottling.
Production: Because of Bussola’s demanding standards, production of each cuvée varies dramatically from vintage to vintage.
ABOUT TOMMASSO BUSSOLA
When Veneto legend Giuseppe Quintarelli was asked years ago to name the region’s next superstar, he didn’t hesitate: Tommaso Bussola.
Originally trained as a stone mason, Tommaso took over his uncle’s Valpolicella estate—with its prized old vineyards in the heart of the Classico zone—in the mid-1980s. While vineyard work came naturally to him, he experimented relentlessly, and absorbed information and ideas from every source available. With each passing vintage, his wines came to show more polish, finesse, intensity, and personality.
By the late nineties, his style had matured, and his wines had become world-famous for their incredible intensity of fruit. Like other top Veneto winemakers, he uses new barrels, but any hint of new wood is hidden by cascades of lush, opulent fruit.
Ancient Clones – The key, we think, is not only the age of his vines but the fact that they are nearly all naturally low-yielding ancient clones: Corvinone (40%), Corvina Grossa (25%) and Rondinella (20%). Corvinone, in particular, is quite rare today because of its low yields and finicky growing habits. Yet, Tommaso claims it is the Corvinone that gives his wines their depth. He calls it the “Super Corvina,” saying that it produces stronger, denser, richer, more perfumed wines.
