Tommasi 2007 "Vigneto Ca' Florian" Riserva Amarone della Valpolicella - uncorked

2007 - The Vintage

In the 2007 the harvest was very early - up to 20 days in advance - as a result of a mild winter and a hot April compared to the average. The rainfall was below the average, but well distributed over the year. The harvest was characterized by permanent conditions of good weather, sunny and breezy, with large temperature ranges between day and night, an advantage for the ripening of the grapes and the sorting in the vineyards of the grapes for the the production of Amarone della Valpolicella. The 2007 vintage will be remembered for its production quantitatively consistent with the yield / hectare from the product specification for the seasonal advance, and also for the excellent health of the grapes. The quality of the grapes was excellent, because they matured without too many pesticide treatments; slight sunburn affected just the grapes from vineyards Guyot trained, but the damaged berries were promptly eliminated during the selection of the bunches during harvest.

Due to these reasons, the 2007  was classified as a Very Good (4/5 Stars) vintage.

Ca' Florian - the cru    

This vineyard (5 ha, i.e. 12.35 acres) is located in the village of Pedemonte (S.Pietro in Cariano), and has a very interesting exposure to the South-West. The soil is typical of these lands, a mix of clay (on the surface) and limestone (in depth). The grapes are the "modern" blend, with a percentage of Corvinone instead of the traditional Molinara grape: the Amarone della Valpolicella Ca' Florian" is thus made mainly with Corvina Veronese (70%), Rondinella (25%) and Corvinone (5%).

The wine - a few technical notes

The winemaking process is similar to the usual one for making this typology of wine: after the harvest the grapes are put on the traditional arele (trellis), in large and ventilated drying rooms, in order to dry them until January following the harvest. Then they are pressed, fermented in steel tanks and subjected to an aging period of at least three years.

For this wine - an Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva -  the aging process was at first made in tonneau (500 lt) for 1 year, and then in big barrels of Slavonian wood for 3 years.

The official launch of this Riserva was during a special evening organized at the Cafè Dante Ristoratore, in Verona downtown.

We tasted the wine, and here is its review.