Visiting Tedeschi, a leading wine producer in the Veneto, to do a deep dive and explore their scientific study that proves terroir
Website: https://www.tedeschiwines.com/en/
The current Tedeschi style developed in the 1960s. ‘Or father [Lorenzo Tedeschi] started to focus more on quality production,’ says Sabrina Tedeschi. ‘He introduced the family style. He saw the higher potential of the grapes from the Monte Olmi vineyard and he started to vinify them separately.’ Lorenzo also put the name of the cru on the bottle. ‘It was in 1964. It was one of the first single-vineyard Amarones in the region.’
Tedeschi now own 46 hectares of vineyards, and except for 4 hectares which they use to make an easy-drinking style of Valpolicella, all the vineyards are in the slopes from 200-500 m altitude. ‘We are in the classic, historical area,’ says Sabrina.
In 2005 they bought new land in a special place. The estate is called Maternigo, and it’s in the east of the region between the municipalities of Tregnago and Mezzane di Sotto. This was chosen because of its soil properties, and on the 84 hectare estate there are now 34 hectares of vines planted in 2008, at an altitude between 200 and 450 m. Soils are calcareous with some loam and clay, and they have studied the variation across the property in detail. ‘From a specific parcel in Maternigo [Impervio] we produce the single-vineyard wine Maternigo,’ says Sabina. ‘We also make Marne 180 Amarone from here, and some other wines.’
We have started a big research project in our vineyards, to get better knowledge of our soils,’ says Sabina. ‘We started research on terroir and did zoning of our vineyards. After this we did characterization of the soil to understand better the behaviour of the vines in specific soil types.’ Now they are pairing with the biotechnology department at the university of Verona to look at the grape and wine characteristics from each part of the vineyard, looking for the link between flavour and soil. ‘We would like to understand better which flavours are produced in the specific areas,’ explains Sabina.
The lead researcher on this project is Professor Maurizio Ugliano, and they have looked at five Tedeschi vineyards over three vintages. The goal has been to see whether there is an aroma signature of these vineyards that persists year after year, even on the background of vintage differences. Ugliano says he was expecting to find the differences linked to compounds derived from the grapes, or precursors present in the grapes that were then transformed by yeasts during fermentation. But he has also found aroma signatures that are synthesized directly by the yeasts. It looks like nitrogen in the musts may be affecting yeast performance, and this could be an important way that the vineyard has its effect. ‘We were able to demonstrate that there are certain vineyards – three out of the five we studied – where every vintage is being characterized by a certain type of aroma profile,’ says Ugliano. ‘For example, there is one vineyard that systematically gives more terpenes in the wine than all the others. This is quite tricky to see because the levels of terpenes change with the vintage: there are some vintages that are rich in these compounds, and others less rich, across the board. Then if you look at this from a relative point of view within the same vintage, you find these aroma signatures of the vineyard.’
Ugliano emphasises that they are working in real-life conditions, harvesting the grapes when the winery harvests them, for example. ‘We didn’t force harvest date decisions, saying they all need to be at the same Brix,’ he says. ‘This is a strong point, because it means the observations we made are more likely to reflect real life situations, but reviewers weren’t necessarily on the same line.’
He expands on the work they did. ‘In the first vintage we saw that the wines were quite different. There’s nothing new in that. We observed a couple of interesting things this first vintage. First, we realized that these grapes, which are red grapes, are quite rich in terpenes. We’d seen this in previous years before we started this experiment. But this is not only the linalool floral-like terpenes, which we have quite a bit of in the young vines, but with a few years of ageing go away, but also other terpenes with menthol/eucalypt aromas. In the tasting notes we find that often tasters report these aromas in these wines.’
‘The other thing we saw is that this diversity that was already quite clear in the first year, we thought it would be mostly associated with grape-derived compounds like terpenes and norisroprenoids and sesquiterpenes. We also saw that the fermentation-derived compounds were changing quite a bit, depending on where the grapes were coming from. We went back to look at this from a yeast perspective. It introduced the concept: the grape components are changing, but part of this diversity that is associated with the vineyard is modulated by what the yeast is doing, not just things that are purely in the grape, and the yeast is just revealing through its activity.’
‘One interesting observation was that part of the diversity is also associated with compounds that the yeast is making de novo: things that are not in the grape, and which the yeast makes. These are esters and higher alcohols that are associated with the site. In grape composition, there are some elements that are triggering the same yeasts to do different things.’
‘Then we repeated the experiment for three vintages, and were able to demonstrate that there are certain vineyards – three out of the five we studied – where every vintage is being characterized by a certain type of aroma profile. For example, there is one vineyard that systematically gives more terpenes in the wine than all the others. This is quite tricky to see because the levels of terpenes change with the vintage: there are some vintages that are rich in these compounds, and others less rich, across the board. Then if you look at this from a relative point of view within the same vintage, you find these aroma signatures of the vineyard. If we say this vineyard in the first vintage was characterized by giving more terpenes, then systematically vintage after vintage this was the terpene vineyard.’
‘From your perspective where you have a lot of situations where you can do tastings and compare things, it is probably something you stumble across frequently. From a purely chemical and analytical point of view, there aren’t many reports where there is the name and address and phone numbers of the vineyard with this type of information, being able to capture the chemical bases of these differences.’
This research, which formed the PhD studies of Giovanni Luzzini has now been published (you can see his thesis here: https://tesidottorato.depositolegale.it/static/PDF/web/viewer.jsp ), and it’s a beautiful test case proving the existence of terroir.
Amarone
I asked Sabina about their preferred style for Amarone. ‘Our style is to make drier wines. We don’t agree with the modern trend to softer styles of wines with some residual sugar. We like dry wines, with good acidity, good tannins.’ They extract at cooler temperatures to avoid extraction of green tannins from the grapes. ‘In the past years we have worked on the drying process, to manage the grapes better. We control temperature and humidity, and we try to maintain the same quality of the grapes from harvest until pressing.’
They dry the grapes in plastic crates, each of which holds around 6 kg. The bunches are first selected in the vineyard, and they are looking for healthy bunches with an open architecture. ‘We dry from the middle of September until December 15 for a part, and then we press some in January.’ So they are dried from 100-120 days. They avoid botrytis as much as they can (some Amarone producers like a bit of botrytis). ‘We work with low humidity: 60% at the beginning. It is very important to control the first 20 days of the drying process. We try to avoid botrytis on our grapes.’
After drying, they destem the grapes and do a long maceration. The fermentation is around two weeks, but the grapes arrive cold (around 5 C, it’s winter), and it takes a while for fermentation to start. The first part is therefore just maceration without fermentation. They like a long maceration after fermentation too: as long as two months. Sometimes pressing is as late as April.
After pressing they keep the wine in stainless steel tanks for a few months, and then go to large barrels of 1000-5000 litres. ‘The Marne is aged for three years, and Monte Almi is aged for four years in barrels,’ says Sabina. ‘We don’t use small barrels because we like to reduce the wood character in the wines. It was a bad trend in the past. We prefer to explain better the terroir and the character of our varieties.’
I visited two of Tedeschi’s most important vineyards with Riccardo Tedeschi, who is responsible for the technical side of Tedeschi’s operations. The first was Fabriseria, and the second Maternigo.
La Fabriseria is a really impressive hillside site, high up in the Classico area. It has limestone soils, but these are quite hard and brittle.
Maternigo is now the main Tedeschi property but it was acquired as recently as 2006 and planted to its current 34 hectare size over the following years. It has beautiful limestone soils, and interesting parcel differences, with some of the plots quite hilly.
Then it was down to the cellar for a tasting that went pretty deep, held in the family archive. Since 2005 they have kept 500-1000 bottles of each vintage, which means that now they have around 20 000 bottles saved as a record of what they do. Before, they used to keep fewer bottles and not declare them officially, so they could only taste them and not sell them. But now they can sell the older vintages.
Maternigo Valpolicella
Tedeschi Maternigo Valpolicella 2020
Highly aromatic with a slight cocoa edge to the nose alongside bright raspberry fruit. In the mouth this is energetic and bright with good concentration and intensity and nice brightness. Lovely weight here with a sour cherry finish. Very fine and linear with good acidity and firm tannins. Pure. 94/100
Tedeschi Maternigo Valpolicella 2015
Sweetly aromatic with a spicy overlay to the bright berry and cherry fruits. The palate has a lovely weight of fruit with nice texture, red cherries, raspberries and some silkiness. Pure, fine and polished, and still bright. 95/100
Tedeschi Maternigo Valpolicella 2012
This is evolving beautifully with some hints of earth, iodine and spice, as well as a slight maltiness, but still lots of sleek red cherry and plum fruit. Has some tannic structure, and good acidity. There’s a lovely mouthfeel here: this is drinking perfectly now. 94/100
Tedeschi Maternigo Valpolicella 2011
The first vintage of this wine. Fine, with some autumnal leafy hints to the concentrated, sleek cherry and plum fruit with lovely depth and a fine-grained palate with some plumpness and a sense of refinement. This is so good. Has a sour cherry twist on the end. 94/100
La Fabriseira Valpolicella Classico Superiore
Tedeschi La Fabriseira Valpolicella Classico Superiore 2021
Taut, focused and aromatic with a freshness to the sweet cherry and berry fruits nose. There’s a beautiful elegance on the palate with supple red cherries and some redcurrant, with nice acidity adding to the sense of freshness. So bright, fine and elegant, this has real precision and purity. Linear and precise, finishing with some grippy tannins. Beautiful. 95/100
Tedeschi La Fabriseira Valpolicella Classico Superiore 2013
Hints of warm spice and dried leaves on the nose as well as sweet red cherries. The palate has a hint of balsamic character adding some savouriness, as well as a twist of mint, but there’s still a lot of supple, fresh wild strawberry and red cherry fruit, finishing with some grippy, slightly abrasive tannin. A really lovely wine that had depth and density, beginning to open out but still with time ahead of it. 95/100
Tedeschi La Fabriseira Valpolicella Classico Superiore 2012
Some warm malty hints on the nose along with smooth cherry and berry fruits and some autumnal decay. Very appealing. The palate is developed but still fresh and with plenty of fruit, showing a rounded, smooth character and well resolved tannins, and nice cherries and plums. 94/100
Tedeschi La Fabriseira Valpolicella Classico Superiore 2007
Very fine, floral and elegant, showing a touch of development but also smooth black cherry fruit with a hint of exotic peach character. The palate is concentrated with some leafy green hints sitting behind the textured fruit: such finesse here. In a beautiful place. 96/100
Amarone
Tesdeschi Maternigo Amarone della Valpolicella Riserva 2016
17% alcohol. Highly aromatic with a tarry, herby, spicy edge to the black fruits, as well as some alcoholic warmth. The palate is bold and structured with a sweet core of black fruits as well as earth, iodine, charcoal and some Fernet Branca notes: sweetly herbal, with a touch of mint, some cardamon, and sweet stewed plums. There’s some tannin here, and it finishes dry. Give this one some time: an impact wine. 94/100
Tedeschi Amarone 2009
16% alcohol. In 2015 this took a new name Marne 180: it is their ‘regular’ Amarone. Beautiful aromatics of ripe, sleek, liqueur-like black cherry and blackberry fruit with floral detail. It’s so sweetly aromatic. The palate is rich and sweetly fruited with lovely depth and smoothness, finishing off with fine autumnal notes and a twist of nice green. Such a fine, spicy structure here, which really adds balance to the sweet fruit. Has lovely volume in the mouth. 96/100
Tedeschi Capitel Monte Olmi Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico Riserva 2009
16% alcohol. Brooding with some sweet black fruit notes as well as a bit of stern spiciness on the nose. There’s even a hint of pepper here, as well as some blood orange. The palate is bold but really elegant with some spicy structure adding grip that supports the lush cherry and berry fruit. Has a nice Campari bitterness on the finish, but stays elegant all the way through. Beautiful stuff. 97/100
Tedeschi Capitel Monte Olmi Amarone 2008
16% alcohol. This is quite powerful and structured with firm tannins alongside lush cherry and berry fruits. Compact and a little unyielding right now, it offers some sweet fruit pleasure, but it’s tight. Nice savouriness in the form of iodine, minerals and dry herbs, with a focused, grippy, slightly drying finish. Could develop in interesting ways, though. 94/100
Tedeschi Amarone 2006
16.5% alcohol. Herbs, spices, mint and even some pepper on the nose as well as sweet cherries and raspberries. Showing a little development. The palate is stony and mineral with some chalk and gravel on the palate, with really nice savoury detail under the cherry and plum fruit. Such detail, finishing dry and long. 95/100
Tedeschi Capitel Monte Olmi Amarone 2005
16% alcohol. The first vintage where they added Osoleta (they used 10% then, but now use only 5%). Lovely aromatics with a touch of mulch and mint alongside sweet liqueur-like cherry fruit. Floral and enticing. The palate is fine and elegant with sleek, ripe fruit but also some herbs and iodine: it’s very sweetly fruited and the alcohol adds to this sense of sweetness, but then there’s really nice balancing structure with some crunch on the finish. 97/100
Tdeschi Capitel Monte Olmi Amarone 2000
15% alcohol. Warmly aromatic with fine spices, red cherries, some plums and a hint of dust. Just a fine note of decaying leaves adds savouriness. The palate is sweetly fruited, harmonious and warm with nice texture and a wide dynamic range: there’s lovely strawberry and red cherry fruit but also appealing savoury spiciness. Grippy finish. Quite beautiful. 96/100
Tedeschi Amarone 1998
15% alcohol. Red cherries, redcurrants, a twist of iron, fine herbs: a complex, layered nose that showing evolution but not too much. The palate is fine and elegant with redcurrant, cherries, iodine, fine earthy hints and then good tannins, with such lovely acidity. This is beautifully balanced, in a really good place now. Fantastic. 97/100
Tedeschi Capitel Monte Olmi Amarone 1998
15% alcohol. Concentrated and rich with some noticeable sweetness. It’s evolved with notes of cherry and raspberry, some rich oxidative development, and a hint of raisin on the finish. Great concentration, slightly cloudy, a touch of sour cherry and marmalade on the finish. 93/100
Tedeschi La Fabriseria Amarone 1995
15% alcohol. Beautiful evolved aromatics of red cherries, herbs and undergrowth. The palate has a sweet core with green herbs, iodine, some negroni and a lovely smooth, silky texture. Such elegance and refinement here: it’s in a beautiful place and drinking really well now. Fine raisin, caramel and liqueur cherry notes. Harmonious. 97/100
Tedeschi Capitel Monte Olmi Amarone 1991
15% alcohol. This was very tannic in its youth: a difficult vintage. Bright, sappy and linear with nice focus to the cherry and berry fruits, with some herbal detail. Has a mineral and iron core to the fruit, with good acidity. Not noticeably sweet. Shows great tension, and finishes quite firm and savoury with a slight earthy twist, and some grippy tannins. Haunting and detailed with lots to engage the mind. Thoughtful. 96/100
Tedeschi Recioto di Amarone Capitel Monte Olmi 1979
This was the name for Amarone before 1990. Still full-coloured. Autumnal aromatics with sweet black cherries and spice. The palate has a savoury, spicy edge to the sweet red and black cherry fruit with some earthy hints in the background. There’s some black fruit quality here, but also a savoury, spicy note. Beautiful stuff, with some sweet fruit and some savouriness. 95/100
Older notes
Tedeschi Maternigo 2014 Valpolicella, Italy
14.5% alcohol. 2011 was the first vintage for this wine. 2014 was a cool, rain-affected vintage, but this vineyard is in the hills in the east of the region, so it can handle rainy vintages better than the flat areas. The three grapes, from a single parcel, were harvested a little over-ripe. Soils here are colluvial, with limestone and clay. It is quite a shallow soil, and this part is quite white and rocky. Yields just under 8 tons/hectare. Long maceration of almost a month. 18 months in large barrels (1000-5000 litres). Lovely density here with some pepper and black cherry notes as well as plums and spice. Complex with hints of leather and iodine, and some warm spiciness on the finish. Lovely density: a rich wine but with complexity. Has some chocolatey richness. 92/100
Tedeschi Marne 180 Amarone della Valpolicella 2016
16.5% alcohol. This is quite lovely. It has appealing aromatics with fresh red berries and cherries, with some floral character, and a hint of leather. There is lovely fruit purity and intensity. The palate is fresh and focused with lovely pure red fruits, and a silky mid-palate with a dry character, showing some softness and complexity. There’s some tea and herb complexity under the silky, fresh fruit, with lovely focus and finesse. Quite beguiling with lovely purity and elegance, and sheer drinkability. The alcohol is carried very well. Sensational wine. 95/100
Tedeschi Capitel Monte Olmi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva 2013
17% alcohol. Terraced vineyards, with marl (limestone with clay), very poor in nutrients. There’s some minty freshness on the nose with pepper and raspberry, cherry and plum. Quite seductive and aromatic. The palate is powerful, but retains elegance with good balance despite the 17% alcohol. There’s a lovely freshness to the fruit that balances out the richness, and the result is a complex, focused wine with great complexity, showing some herbs, spice, tea and a hint of tar. This is a special Amarone. 96/100
UK agent: Fells
