2015 Rubinelli Vajol Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Veneto

Rubinelli Vajol sits in the heart of Valpolicella Classica, twelve kilometers east of Lake Garda — the historic zone where Amarone has been made for centuries. Gaetano Rubinelli, the engineer who built a hydro-electric plant on the Adige, acquired the Vajol estate in the early twentieth century. The family's intention became clear over time: produce a cru of Vajol capable of expressing the full quality of this singular site. The estate extends across ten hectares surrounding Corte Sant'Anna, entirely south-facing in the warm, sunlit Conca del Vajol.

The soils are calcareous and tufaceous — marl, clay, and stone — conditions that moderate the vine's natural vigor and push toward elegance, balance, and aromatic depth. The family eliminated all weedkillers and synthetic fertilizers, replacing them with mechanical weeding and green manure. Production centers on the five classic red wines of Valpolicella, released as numbered bottles and aged exclusively in large oak casks of French and Slavonian origin.

This 2015 Amarone shows a slightly broody nose with aromas of overripe raspberries, oyster shell, and fresh herbs like lemon grass. Medium- to full-bodied with quietly intense fruit and a lightly firm tannin framework. Focused fruit on the finish. At 16% alcohol, it has the structure to expand over the next decade. James Suckling scored it 94 points and noted it still needs plenty of time.

Amaroning is the result of drying the grapes before fermentation — concentrating sugar, acid, and flavor into something richer and more powerful than table wine, but still dry. This is old-vine Corvina, Corvinone, and Rondinella from a single estate in Valpolicella Classico, drinking now but built for the cellar.