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Il Sasso
Amarone della Valpolicella Classico
Italy, Veneto
Red
Winery Overview
From Verona, walk up Negrar’s valley until you reach a ‘ Rock’ of Limestone – this is Il Sasso (sasso is ‘rock’ in Italian). It’s here that the grape varieties Corvina, Corvinone, and Rondinella grow deep into the terraced limestone in search of water. Soon enough, the interaction of roots, water and limestone¹ soils will bring a palpable tension to the bottled wines. And, as we’ll see below, Il Sasso’s young owner Stefano Bellamoli focuses on preserving this tension. He tracks and knows the terracing here (soil, sun exposition, water retention, grape variety) like the back of his hand, because he has it in his notebook; he eschews wood (and its spice) in favour of unlined cement diamonds and ceramic eggs. All of this is done with the backdrop of an exacting viticulture that also happens to be certified organic. This is Valpolicella for minimalists.
Part of the PortoVino portfolio
From the Latin Vallis-poli-cellae, Valley-of-many-cellars, derives the denomination Valpolicella. The valley and subzone of Negrar is Vallpolicella’s most well known on account of the number and fame of its historic producers (for example, Giuseppe Quintarelli). It’s here at just over 300 meters in the Pigneto cru that newcomer il Sasso is making its mark. Many producers in Valpolicella have tracks of limestone; yet, Stefano reminds us, the old system of terracing gives the wines just the right exposition, both less and more sun, to give lower yields while retaining acidity. Stefano aims not merely to pick early for fresh wines, but to pick the right vines, exposed differently, at the right time, for resulting freshness, depth, and tension.
Terroir
Yellow limestone, rich in seashell fossils and white stones
Vinification
Manual harvest of selected grapes which are let to dry naturally for up to 4 months. Then, fermentation starts with a pied de cuve; grapes co-ferment in big cement tanks for 1 month. 75% of the grapes are destemmed and 25% is whole cluster. Temperature under 25°C. When the fermentation is finished, the must macerate in cement for 2 months and then soft pressing. Élevage for 2 years in ceramic barrels of 400 ml. Additional élevage for 6 months in the bottle. No filtration and gravity natural decant.
