The Tommasi story is spread over 120 years and four generations and takes place in the acclaimed Valpolicella Classica region in northern Italy. The Tommasi estate has since become intertwined with their Amarone making - a style of wine that is rich and dark, made from grapes that are first left to dry before they are fermented, allowing the grapes to raisin and concentrate its sugars and flavours with the moisture having evaporated.

But first, let's talk about the Tommasi's.

The fourth generation of Tommasi's.

The Tommasi estate was first established by Giacomo Tommasi who had acquired a small parcel of land in Veneto's Valpolicella Classica, when he had married into a Veronese family and had gone to live with them. He would spend his life tending to his wines but largely as a sharecropper - pretty much paying rent in the form of his produce to the local Count. His sons would finally reap the rewards of his efforts and the Tommasi family would now own their own land.

Yet it wasn't until 1959 that the Tommasi's would produce their first official vintage of Amarone, which they would eventually come to be best known for, using a combination of Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara grapes. This would involve allowing the harvested grapes to dry on bamboo racks and rasinate, a process known in Italian as appassimento. This 3-4 month process allows the grapes to lose moisture but concentrate its sugars and flavours. These partial raisins would then be pressed and go through a low temperature fermentation for anywhere from 30 to 50 days. After which the wine is then left to age for at least 2 years in wooden barrels typically made of French or Slavonian oak. In the making of Amarone, the leftover pomace from the pressing is often used to create another style of wines called ripasso Valpolicellas.

The process by which grapes are left to rasinate is core to the making of Amarone - known as appassimento, and is traditionally done on bamboo racks.

Worth noting is that the Valpolicella terroir is marked by an area that was once glacial, and thus the soils can be characterised as calcareous and rich with fossils. It's well-draining and experiences a strong amount of sunshine whilst maintain a relative coolness with its breeziness from the nearby lakes as well as the vineyards being at a higher altitude. Some of the sub areas can be marked with varying amounts of limestone and clay, while others feature mineral rich dark clay. Where it comes to Tommasi, much of the vines in their estate are at least 30 years old.

And while the Valpolicella region has long been known for producing great wines, it wasn't till the 1950's that it was marketed under the Amarone name. Yet with the likes of producers such as Tommasi, it wouldn't be long before by 1968 the region's wines were conferred its own DOC denomination (Denominazione di origine controllata) which protects the definition of Valpolicella's Amarone under Italian regulation. This would take place just as the torch was passed on to the third generation of Tommasi producers.

The Magnifica oak cask, the largest cask of Amarone at 33 thousand litres, commemorated the 110th anniversary of the Tommasi estate.

The subsequent decades would see Amarone grow in awareness, which came with expansion in the Tommasi estate - a new winery was in store, more access in export markets, and eventually the Tommasi estate would grow to acquire more vineyards in other prized Italian wine regions such as the Tuscan Maremma, Puglia, Lombardia and Montalcino. Today the Tommasi estate extends over 242 hectares across Italy.

And so with all that said, today we're going to try a very special work of Tommasi's - the Ca' Florian Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Reserva 2015. The Ca' Florian vineyard is called the heart of Tommasi and it is the family's oldest vineyards (it is their single vineyard label that honours their forefather Giacomo Tommasi), and it's where the family has worked on since their dawn in 1902.

The Valpolicella Classica region known for its Amarone.

Everything about this single vineyard has been immortalised, from the dry-stone wall terraced vineyards to the pergola veronese trellising, as well as handmade bamboo racks on which the fruits are left to rasinate for 100 days. Maturation here lasts for 4 years - first year in barriques and then 3 more years in Slavonian oak casks, before another year of ageing in bottle.

The Ca' Florian Amarone Riserva only sees 9,000 bottles a year - so very small production and is said to be the best from Tommasi.

Let's give it a go! Onward!

Tommasi, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva Ca'Florian 2015 - Review

Tasting Notes

Colour: Ruby

Aroma: Big, powerful and bold dark fruit - black cherries, blackberries, raspberries, cassis - in jam and concentrate. The fruit powers forward with lots of energy but is also quite dense and rich. There's a very nice depth here to the richness too. Some chewy bits of licorice candy, hints of cacao, stewed figs and plums, fruit cake, black raisins, brown sugar. There's a slight dryness towards the back, but the fruit still very much overwhelms it. Traces of fresh fruit acidity and clove as well.

Taste: More on ripe dark fruits here - the same black cherries, raspberries and cassis - less jammy here with a brighter hit of acidity and more tannin structure as well. There's alittle more balance between the fruit and tannins. With the tannins firming up slightly. Smaller hints of licorice, dark chocolate and cinnamon here. It's still quite powerful here with a big and medium to full body.

Finish: The acidity continues to intensify, with the tannins also turning more grippy here with more of those grape skins. It gives a refreshing contrast to the big sweet fruits on the nose and palate. The oak is abit more present here as well. All of which just slightly edging out the fruit.

My Thoughts 

When you think of big powerful red wines, this should definitely be on that list. It's got a big and full body of thick, ripe and rich dark fruit. On the nose it comes more in the form of a jam or baked berry confectionaries, whilst on the palate the acidity comes through more and it leans closer towards fresh fruit. Into the finish is where you find more of the tannins where it becomes much more apparent, even though you can already feel the firmness on the palate. Whilst this was already pretty well-aged by the time I tried it, I think with some more age perhaps 3-4 years, the fruit would have darkened even more on the palate like it has on the nose, and you'd get more of the earthy licorice, chocolate and spices, which would've been lovely if there was more of. You probably would see more jammy fruits seep into the finish to balance out the acidity as well to give more balance.

Overall, very tasty, and really very unique. Because Amarone is abit of a reverse of what you'd typically find with big and bold red wines where the harvest comes late and hence by the time the fruit is harvested, there's already more sugars and less acidity, with Amarone the fruit is harvested earlier and then through the appassimento process concentrates that originally lesser sugars, you get a very unique flavour profile where it's more raisin-y and more along the lines of a dried fruit sweetnesss that has also more of a pucker. Here we see that happening, and with a couple more years, you'd see it in full swing. 

If you like more of a concentrated oxidised sweetness a la raisins or even some types of oxidised fortified wines, this will definitely be a good pick - it would go perfect with a charcuterie board.

Kanpai!

@111hotpot