Classification: Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Denominazione di Origine Controllata.  Origins: Vaio Masi vineyard, altitude of 370 - 400m a.s.l. near intersection of the valley crests  for Marano and Negrar; West and South-West facing. Hillside terrain, mostly calcareous with  outcrops of basaltic tuff (toar). Substrate deep enough for cultivation, rich in humus, with good  quantity of fine gravel. Wide vineyard terraces supported by dry-stone walling (marogne) and  natural grassed-over buttressing.  Grapes: Corvina, Rondinella, Corvinone, Molinara.  Vintage characteristics for 1999: a dry winter followed by wet conditions in the summer led  to uneven ripening, with a fortunate recovery just before harvest. Careful selection of the right  grape bunches for appassimento and appropriate auxiliary aeration kept botrytis under control.  Appassimento was prolonged until mid-February to benefit further from the excellent climatic  conditions.  Harvest and appassimento: picking took place on 5 October 1999. Excellent sugar levels, very  good readings for concentration and colour. The grapes were laid out to dry on the bamboo  racks (arelle) of the drying loft at Torbe. Low humidity, infrequent mists and ideal day-to-night  temperature variations favoured an excellent appassimento process, prolonged until 7 February  2000. Healthy and analytically well-balanced grapes.  Vinification: pressing and de-stalking of grapes before transfer to a single stainless-steel tank  for fermentation. Must temperature at time of pressing: 5°C. 7 days cold maceration. Finish of  alcoholic fermentation on 10 March 2000. Decantation into stainless steel vats until 25 May  2000 with two stages of racking in between. Control for subsequent malolactic fermentation.   Ageing in new 600-litre French oak casks from 6 June 2000 to 15 October 2003.  Maturation and ageing: particular process designed to bring this wine to the table almost 25  years after its grape harvest. Matured in wood for 3 years (2000-2003), then rested in stainless  steel tanks, filled to the brim, until bottling in January 2024. This original technique has enabled  us to “stop the clock”, producing a wine that, a quarter of a century after its vintage, combines  the complexity that comes from long ageing with surprising freshness.  Data analysis before bottling: Effective alcohol 15.90% vol., sugars 4.80 g/l, dry extract 38.90  g/l, total acidity 6.47 g/l, pH 3.53