Lawyer-turned-winemaker Pietro Clementi acquired 20 hectares of vineyard and woods in 1968, of which 14.5 hectares are currently under vine. With the help of the locals, he learned how to make wine the old-fashioned way. As a former mayor of Marano di Valpolicella, and a lawyer with 50 years of experience, Pietro had no shortage of clients and friends locally. Many came to taste the Mayor’s Amarone. Now with the second generation at the helm, the wines remain true to the spirit of Pietro’s vision.

The cultivation of the vines is in man-made terraces, called in the Verona dialect “marogne” and the training is the traditional, tall pergola of the Veneto, which helps maintain a core of classical freshness in all the wines. The soils here are poor, calcareous and ideal for the local varieties of Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, Molinara, Oseleta and Croatina. All the wines are made with native grapes in varying proportions, but based largely on Corvina and Corvinone, supplemented mostly by Rondinella.

Resolutely old-school the Valpolicellas are light and digestible with tension and freshness, even in the ripasso which is one of the few still to be made by passing the must over the marc of the Amarone rather than by blending. The Amarone is firmly old-fashioned with balsamic, beef stock and spice in abundance. Long-ageing and dry, it is in stark contrast to the sweet, modern style.