2018 Antiche Terre Baorna Amarone Della Valpolicella Veneto 750 ml

The Amarone category is synonymous with ripe power, massive structure, and the kind of Lamborghini-esque panache and drama that only the Italians can produce. Single-vineyard expressions—still rare, but increasingly common from elite producers since the popularity of Amarone exploded in the 1990s—take all that to the next level. 

Not only are these some of the biggest wines on the planet, they transmit a sense of place too, shaped by the microclimates that fold in and out of the region’s valleys. The best are hard to come by—and FAR from cheap.

So when our friends at Antiche Terre came to us with a small allocation of their limited-production, single-vineyard Baorna, we couldn’t get to the dotted line fast enough. It’s a hard-to-find wine that represents the best value on a single-vineyard Amarone.

The grapes are harvested from a restricted six-acre plot next to the winery designated specifically for this bottling. Named for the stream that replenishes the estate’s soils, the clay-based vineyard is cooled by the water, and the grapes that come from this superb environment display a spectacular southern-Rhône Grenache-like profile.

Antiche Terre’s approach to creating this wine requires sacrifice, patience, and a know-how that’s been passed from generation to generation. After a handpicked harvest, the wine team dries the grapes for three to four months in specialized lofts that need to have the humidity checked constantly to prevent rot. The drying concentrates everything: sugars, aromas, flavors, and—crucially, to maintain balance—acids. After the grapes have lost a third of their water volume, the winemaking begins.

It all adds up to a grand, orchestral effect in the glass.