Amarone della Valpolicella – 2019

Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG 2019 by Cà dei Frati. Four grape varieties, three years of aging, 94 Falstaff points.

Amarone della Valpolicella 2019 is the powerful Appassimento red wine from Veneto. The Dal Cero family bottles it under the "Pietro dal Cero" label as a tribute to the father of the Cà dei Frati house. Not a sweet Recioto, not an ordinary Valpolicella, not a wine for a quick sip.

Amarone della Valpolicella 2019 is a dry Italian red wine of the Cuvée Pietro dal Cero. The Cuvée combines 70 percent Corvina Veronese, 20 percent Corvinone Veronese, and 5 percent each of Rondinella and Croatina. The glass shows a deep garnet red, almost black at the core. Sour cherry emerges first on the nose, followed by dark chocolate, sweet spices, and a floral note of dark violets. Falstaff rated this 2025 vintage with 94 points. It is the wine with which Cà dei Frati consciously leaves its Lugana home and moves to Veneto.

Sour cherry, chocolate, dark rose

The aromatics of Amarone rest on three pillars: red fruit, dark spice, and floral depth. Ripe sour cherry dominates the nose, embedded in hints of plum jam and dried fig. In the background are dark chocolate, cinnamon, tobacco, and a hint of licorice. With air, an unusually floral layer opens up - dark violets, dried rose, a touch of lavender.

On the palate, the wine is dense, full-bodied, yet not heavy. The tannins are silky polished, and the acidity carries the full weight of the fruit. Built on 16 percent vol alcohol, the wine nevertheless remains in balance because the long aging integrates any impression of warmth. The finish lingers long with chocolate, cocoa, and a hint of pepper.

Anyone looking for a light, fruity Italian for a summer evening will find the wine too powerful. Even for pure lovers of crisp junior tannins, Amarone is not the right label – the aging has smoothed everything here.

With Brasato, porcini mushroom risotto and aged hard cheese

Serve this Amarone at 17 to 18 °C from a large Burgundy glass. Decant one hour before the first sip, or even longer for younger bottles.

At the table, the wine pairs well with robust, slow-cooked meat dishes. Brasato al Barolo, Osso buco with saffron risotto, a braised roast with porcini mushrooms, braised wild ragout with polenta, or a classic Boeuf bourguignon showcase its depth. It is also an equal counterpart to grilled beef fillet with truffle butter. Daring hosts might try it with dark chocolate with a high cocoa content or with tiramisu with strong espresso - a combination that extends its chocolatey aromas. In the cheese course, it accompanies aged Parmigiano Reggiano, a 24-month Gran Padano, or strong mountain cheeses with honey and nuts.

From experience: Do not open the bottle too young. The 2019 is just beginning to open up and will gain significantly in depth over the next eight to ten years. Those who drink it now should allow at least an hour of decanting. For a comparative tasting at home, we recommend the younger Ronchedone 2023 and the classic Amarone Pietro dal Cero 2018 from the same house.

A tribute across regional borders

Cà dei Frati is not actually a Veneto house, but is rooted in Lombardy. The winery is located in Lugana di Sirmione on the southern shore of Lake Garda. It has stood for white wine there for generations, above all Lugana. With the Amarone, the Dal Cero family sets a deliberate counterpoint. It is no coincidence that the wine bears the name Pietro dal Cero, the father who was one of the co-founders of DOC Lugana in 1969. Pietro significantly shaped the region. The Amarone is the next generation's bow to this heritage - filled with grapes from beyond their own appellation.

The grapes for the Amarone are harvested in Veneto and then dried according to the Appassimento tradition. Over about 100 days, the berries lose about a third of their weight. What remains is concentrated must, intense aromas, and a higher sugar content, which is converted into additional glycerin and volume in the finished wine. The wine then ages for 24 months in barrique, another 12 months in steel tanks, and at least 24 months in the bottle before leaving the winery. In total, there are about five years between harvest and sale - a period that contradicts any quick market pressure.

The DOCG Amarone della Valpolicella is one of the strictly regulated Italian appellations. Only a wine made from the indigenous grape varieties Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, and smaller additional varieties may bear the name Amarone. The grapes must be traditionally dried before vinification. The fact that the Dal Cero family appears here with its own Cuvée is more the exception than the rule in the market. Usually, the DOCG is played by established Veneto houses that cultivate their slopes in Valpolicella themselves. Cà dei Frati has decided to work with selected partner winemakers. The family takes care of the vinification in their own Cantina - a constellation that combines concentration and style in one hand.

The additional aging in the bottle distinguishes this Amarone from faster market-ready representatives. Where many houses bottle and deliver after the legal minimum aging period, the Dal Cero family allows several more years to pass. The result is a wine that already shows drinkability when opened, but at the same time still has years of development ahead of it.

A wine for long evenings

What makes this wine special is the combination of power and elegance. The 16 percent vol alcohol is never the dominant impression, but is absorbed by the aged fruit and the present acidity. Many representatives of the DOCG are suspected of appearing monolithic - heavy, sweetish, alcohol-driven. Here, on the other hand, the aging has had enough time to bring the individual components together. The wine remains complex, but accessible. As a gift for ambitious wine lovers, it is a safe choice, especially when Italy is discussed. On your own table, the Pietro dal Cero is suitable for long evenings at the beginning of the cooler season. Then conversations become longer and meals heartier. Don't serve it between other wines, but let it take the main role. An Amarone can carry an evening alone. It tolerates no supporting roles and no hurried attention.

A wine not bottled for a quick round - but for those evenings when time allows for a second bottle.