Ratings & Tasting Notes:

None found.

Cult Wines International Notes:

The House of Bertani, founded in 1857 by brothers Gaetano and Giovan Battista Bertani in Quinto di Valpolicella, is an iconic pillar of Italian winemaking. A student of the great French oenologist Jules Guyot, Gaetano brought advanced viticultural techniques to the region, establishing a legacy of uncompromising quality. Bertani is universally credited with defining the modern style of Amarone, releasing its legendary, long-aged Amarone Classico since the 1958 vintage. Operating from the historic Villa Novare in Arbizzano, the estate maintains a fiercely traditional philosophy, utilizing the native Corvina and Rondinella grapes grown on the region’s hillside limestone and clay soils. Bertani’s steadfast adherence to the classic, slow appassimento process—drying grapes on natural bamboo racks (arele) for months before a lengthy maturation in large Slavonian oak casks—yields a wine celebrated worldwide for its intellectual complexity, structural sobriety, and peerless aging potential.

The 1990 growing season is widely revered as a legendary, benchmark vintage across Italy, characterized by near-perfect weather conditions. A warm, dry spring led into a gloriously hot and sun-drenched summer, ensuring an ideal fruit set and uniform vine development. Crucially, timely August rains prevented hydric stress, allowing the grapes to reach an exceptional state of phenolic ripeness while retaining vibrant, mouthwatering acidity. Harvesting began under immaculate autumn skies, with grape selection for the Amarone being exceptionally strict to ensure only loose, perfectly healthy clusters were set aside for the winter drying phase. The resulting 1990 vintage is a monumental masterpiece for Bertani, marrying the wine’s signature notes of dried cherry, tobacco, and woodland earth with a majestic, velvety structure and an endless, resonant finish that has allowed it to evolve magnificently over decades.

Bottle Size:

750 mL

Storage History:

Always stored on its side in a climate-controlled cellar.

Condition:

Outstanding condition.

Please note: The condition of the bottle you will receive is accurately reflected by the one shown in the images.