Amarone – an unstoppable, if variable, force?

The 2007 harvest, recently showcased in an anteprima (en primeur) tasting of Amarones in Veneto (see my 65 tasting notes), will be remembered in Valpolicella as the earliest of the last 70 years. A mild, dry winter was followed by a very wet March. Spring kick-started with temperatures reaching 30 °C at the end of April, and bud break was a whole two weeks earlier than in 2006. Compared with 2006, flowering was also more than two weeks ahead, raising expectations for an unusually early harvest.

Summer was characterised by high temperatures and little rainfall, causing water stress for...