Tommasi releases the Family Library and Amarone 2017 Special Edition
Tommasi Family Estates has released a Family Library containing 3 vintages of Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOCG—2012, 2017 and 2022—together with a limited Tommasi Amarone 2017 Special Edition built around a musical concept.
The new releases
Tommasi Family Estates has introduced the Family Library as a collection of 3 cellar-preserved vintages of Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOCG: 2012, 2017 and 2022. The releases are separated by 5 years, allowing the development of wine from the same vineyards to be compared across 10 years. The collection is accompanied by the limited Tommasi Amarone 2017 Special Edition, which presents the wine’s development through a music-themed project.1
Giancarlo Tommasi, technical director and chief winemaker, said Amarone carries Valpolicella’s identity around the world and should be assessed through its evolution as well as at release. For a family established in Valpolicella Classica for 4 generations and committed to this approach for more than 100 years, opening the cellar is intended to demonstrate the contribution of vineyard work, maturation and time while bringing that heritage to a new audience.1
A playlist for the special edition
The Amarone 2017 Special Edition comes in packaging modeled on the visual language of music-streaming platforms. A postcard presents the vintage, food-pairing suggestions and the winemaker’s tasting notes. A QR code leads to a Spotify playlist curated by Matilde Davoli for Sudestudio, with music released from 2017 onward placed in chronological sequence to accompany a 10-year perspective on the wine.1
The listening sequence is organized around 4 stages: Opening, Tasting, Sharing and Celebrating. It begins with Phoebe Bridgers’ “Motion Sickness,” released in 2017, and includes music by Jungle, Jessie Ware, Little Simz, David Byrne and The Strokes. The selection also contains 2 tracks recorded at Sudestudio: Beirut’s “Gallipoli” and Selton’s “Calma Cara.”1
The character of the vintage
Giancarlo Tommasi describes the 2017 vintage as being in a phase of full expression: its fruit has moved toward deeper notes, its structure has gained elegance and its tannins have become velvety. Tommasi says the playlist was chosen to echo the Amarone’s warmth, elegance, assertive character and refinement, inviting drinkers to approach it through taste, sight and sound.1
Amarone archive projects
The Tommasi initiative joins other Valpolicella projects centered on cellaring and longevity. Bertani, now part of Angelini Wines & Estates, maintains a Library with vintages extending back to 1958. The Tedeschi Archive at Tedeschi Winery holds more than 27,000 bottles representing 50 years, while Zenato produces Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Archivio Storico only from the finest vintages.1
The Tommasi portfolio
Founded in 1902, Tommasi Family Estates has expanded from Valpolicella Classica to 800 hectares of vineyards in 7 Italian regions.1
Its holdings comprise Tommasi Viticoltori in Veneto, Tenuta di Caseo in Oltrepò Pavese, Casisano in Montalcino, Poggio al Tufo in the Tuscan Maremma, Masseria Surani in Puglia, Paternoster in the Vulture area of Basilicata, a project in Orvieto in Umbria, and Ammura on Etna in Sicily, acquired in 2022.1
The group also has strategic partnerships with La Massa in Chianti Classico and Marco Felluga Russiz Superiore in Collio. Its De Buris cultural and winegrowing project focuses on Valpolicella Classica and the restoration of a historic villa. Hospitality investments include Villa Quaranta Wine Resort & Thermal Spa in Valpolicella, Albergo Mazzanti and Locanda al Pompiere in central Verona, and Agriturismo Poggio al Tufo in Pitigliano in the Tuscan Maremma.1
Sources
Written by the Dionysus editors from the sources above.
