2007 Giuseppe Quintarelli, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, Veneto Italy.
One of the most iconic wines in the world, made by the late Giuseppe Quintarelli, who passed away a few years back, the Quintarelli Amazon is legendary, ultra old school and wildly unique with it’s own character and soul that seems completely within it’s own world. This wine and the famed Alzero, a similar style wine crafted with Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon are the rarest of rare and amazingly textured wines, I have only a few experiences with them, and this recent tasting of the whole lineup of Quintarelli was a special treat, especially this gorgeous Amarone della Valpolicella Classico with it’s amazing layers and sexy mouth feel and length. There is nothing shy here, at 16+ % and deep intensity of flavor this is a wine that demands attention, and get’s it, like Scarlett Johansson in a red dress, it draws you in! The thing is, this wine is full bodied, powerful and opulent, but still graceful and wonderfully poised, it carries it’s weight well and even refined, it’s a wine of major contrasts and it attacks the senses in waves with dark cherry, dried plums, berry compote, chocolate, golden raisins and sweet fig along with cedar, baking spices and dried flowers. It’s ripe, but earthy, complex, but easy to love, it’s everything that’s promised and more, this is what Amarone tastes like in heaven. This beautiful wine is just fantastic, it is a bucket list wine, it is a wine you should try maybe only once, though it is not a wine for every celebration or special occasion with family or friends, or to show off with, it is for selfish and romantic times and should be experienced in that way, privately and lustfully with a lover over a long meal without distractions! This wine is an exotic and erotic joy in the glass, slightly dusty and with a few unpolished edges, but undeniably pure sex, hedonistic to the core and a bottle of love potion! This Corvina and Rondinella masterpiece is almost impossible to find, but Quintarelli Amarone is a wine that you should consider for your cellar no question, plus I should mention their lovely Rosso Ca’ del Merlo, a Valpolicella style wine aged 6 years in cask and with Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon added to the usual mix of Corvina, Rondinella and other grapes at Quintarelli, it’s also 2007 vintage and it’s quite fetching too, and at $90, a much easier wine on your wallet. This are wines that age at a snails pace, solid for 10, 20 or 30 years even!
($360 Est.) 96 Points, grapelive
