JB and SH for dinner: Cork. 16.5% alc. Decanted 3 hours. Lush and open. Ripe red and black fruits, leather, mocha and tar seamlessly enveloped in silky, integrated tannins. What a treat.
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Critiquing this spiritual master of earthly wine artistry is bit like complaining about the noise in a Maserati. Delicious and so iconic but still this felt a little young, somewhat less complex than the 1997 or 2004 (or the great 1970s) and excellent but wanting for more acidity and definition-- of tar, dark cherry, leather and smokey wet wood. So lush, perfectly integrated after 5 hours in the decanter, and showing that deep dark garnet/black hue throughout. A treat.
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The weakest Q Amarone since 2000 IMHO, where alcohol is a bit obvious towards the end and acidity is a bit soft. No wonder it can age a long time. I had 2 bottles and one of them is slightly corked. To my amazement it got noticeably better on the 2nd day, which more aroma and more texture. Truly a blue ribbon.
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Decanted about 90 minutes. Dark ruby red with notes of raspberries, cherries, mocha and leather. Great mouthfeel with long finish. Alcohol content is over 16% but only slight heat on the finish. Overall, a great Amorone.
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Pre-Auction Italian Wines Tasting Dinner (The Library, Crown Wine Cellars, Shouson Hill, Hong Kong): Clean, clear, semi-translucent red-purple colour. Nose is sweet and young with very dry but fresh young fruit. Palate is way too young but with all the classic rich, late-picked redcurrant and blueberry slightly sweet marmalade-ish dried fruit. Quietly but powerfully reverberant but still in hibernation despite a decant of several hours. I would like to revisit this in 10 years' time.
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Needs to be decanted for about 30 mins. Opened up in glass really well. Classic amarone, just a tad sweet/ripe for my taste. The 2000 Quintarelli drank alongside is better
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The favourite of many at a tasting of Quintarelli and Dal Forno Amraones. It really was interesting wine with more emphasis on elegance and not as big a wine one normally associates with Amarones. Could have scored this higher but the fact is Amarones are not a favourite style of wine for me.
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One of the most extraordinary wines I have had the pleasure to drink. After an hour decant there were still over-strong notes of dried fruit and candied sweetness, with some bitterness also. Over the next hour the flavors integrated, the too-sweet and bitter elements disappeared, a soft satin texture emerged along with a powerful symphony of deep red fruits, herbs, and spices. Fabulous.
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45th TWIGS Dinner - "Italian" (Rancho Naidoo - Coffs Harbour): Served blind, and immediately after the 2007 vintage of the same wine. Cork. 16.5% alc. Nose full of raisins, prunes, liqorice, dark chocolate and vanilla. Palate is full flavored, complex and lush and follows the nose. There's also leather and a mix of sweet and pure dark fruits. Is there a touch of heat here, compared to the 2007? The depth, density and texture of these wines is astounding. The finish is long, and carries both sweet and savoury nuances.
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Another wonderful art offering from the Master. Interesting, too, as I wondered if the hot 2003 weather,which definitely influenced his Valpolicella, would negatively impact the amarone. Not.
But interesting, too, was the slightly diffident profile that emerged. Some years, like 1983 and 1997, show everything in the amarone profile: dark red cherry, smoke, clay, leather,raisins, chocolate, deep velvelty viscosity,all falling short of any imputed port-like tendency.
The 2003 pushes toward more of the chocolate, with raisin and cherry prominent but in the back seat. An alluring nose of raisin , chocolate, some smokey wet wood and leather, gave way to chocolate and raisin tastes that increasing emphasized a lack of alcoholic heat and more sumptuous velvet.
Decanted for only 3 1/2 hours, as opposed other 6 normally needed.
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Annual Pilgrimage to Piedmont - 2015 Edition; 10/9/2015-10/11/2015 (Piedmont, Italy): Came at the end of a legendary lunch at the beautiful Ciau Del Tornavento. Unfortunately by then palate fatigue means not a full tasting note here . still a great wine, good rich core of fruit and very nice length. None of 2003 burnt shenanigans. Felt like a 93
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Jammy cherries and blackberries on the nose and in the mouth. A little hot going down but no complaints. It's delightful. Finish of dried fruit or fruit leather. Very concentrated.
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A great Italian evening in Belgium: Beautiful bouquet with a lot of sweet impressions and beautiful ripe fruits. On the palette the same impressions, almost overripe dark and red berries, good acidity beside the sweet impressions.
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Italian night @ Stappato (Enoteca Stappato, Leuven (Belgium)): Adored the dried fruit component of this wine, which makes the bouquet and palate really ripe, luxurious and complex, but doesn't make a very sweet impression. It's hearty, has a hint of luscious sweetness and hides its alcohol very well. Really excellent and unique.
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Classic Quintarelli Amarone. The fruit soared from the glass with great finesse and focus. It is very hard to describe these wines other than to say they are delicious and an unbelievable wine drinking experience. In my opinion the Quintarelli Amarone, both the classico and riserva, set the standard for this type of wine.
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3/11/2023 - fizz wrote:
JB and SH for dinner: Cork. 16.5% alc.
Decanted 3 hours.
Lush and open. Ripe red and black fruits, leather, mocha and tar seamlessly enveloped in silky, integrated tannins. What a treat.
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12/31/2020 - fizz wrote:
Crammed full of dark and blue fruits. A rich, dense but somehow ethereal palate. Full finish. It’s an experience.
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6/26/2020 - Sotto325 wrote: 94 Points
Critiquing this spiritual master of earthly wine artistry is bit like complaining about the noise in a Maserati. Delicious and so iconic but still this felt a little young, somewhat less complex than the 1997 or 2004 (or the great 1970s) and excellent but wanting for more acidity and definition-- of tar, dark cherry, leather and smokey wet wood. So lush, perfectly integrated after 5 hours in the decanter, and showing that deep dark garnet/black hue throughout. A treat.
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4/25/2020 - axisx wrote: 93 Points
The weakest Q Amarone since 2000 IMHO, where alcohol is a bit obvious towards the end and acidity is a bit soft. No wonder it can age a long time. I had 2 bottles and one of them is slightly corked. To my amazement it got noticeably better on the 2nd day, which more aroma and more texture. Truly a blue ribbon.
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12/26/2019 - spendergast Likes this wine: 96 Points
Decanted about 90 minutes. Dark ruby red with notes of raspberries, cherries, mocha and leather. Great mouthfeel with long finish. Alcohol content is over 16% but only slight heat on the finish. Overall, a great Amorone.
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10/16/2018 - Goldstone Likes this wine: 90 Points
Pre-Auction Italian Wines Tasting Dinner (The Library, Crown Wine Cellars, Shouson Hill, Hong Kong): Clean, clear, semi-translucent red-purple colour. Nose is sweet and young with very dry but fresh young fruit. Palate is way too young but with all the classic rich, late-picked redcurrant and blueberry slightly sweet marmalade-ish dried fruit. Quietly but powerfully reverberant but still in hibernation despite a decant of several hours. I would like to revisit this in 10 years' time.
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6/20/2018 - Aglenardi Likes this wine: 93 Points
Needs to be decanted for about 30 mins. Opened up in glass really well. Classic amarone, just a tad sweet/ripe for my taste. The 2000 Quintarelli drank alongside is better
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4/18/2018 - ve23 Likes this wine: 95 Points
95/100
A magnum of Q’s Amarone, even not in the greatest vintage, is still amazing.
Typical nose of cassis liqueur and blackberry jam. Fine grainy tannin.
The year was steaming hot - yet its whopping 16.5% abv are not visible, the alco is neatly integrated - feels light, lighter than Cheval Blanc.
Delightful!
10 April 2018 at Winil
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4/8/2018 - burlingtonm Likes this wine: 93 Points
The favourite of many at a tasting of Quintarelli and Dal Forno Amraones.
It really was interesting wine with more emphasis on elegance and not as big a wine one normally associates with Amarones. Could have scored this higher but the fact is Amarones are not a favourite style of wine for me.
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1/19/2018 - fcxj wrote: 92 Points
Enjoyable, if very sweet.
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9/30/2017 - Red Sox Fan wrote: 98 Points
One of the most extraordinary wines I have had the pleasure to drink. After an hour decant there were still over-strong notes of dried fruit and candied sweetness, with some bitterness also. Over the next hour the flavors integrated, the too-sweet and bitter elements disappeared, a soft satin texture emerged along with a powerful symphony of deep red fruits, herbs, and spices. Fabulous.
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8/20/2016 - fizz wrote:
45th TWIGS Dinner - "Italian" (Rancho Naidoo - Coffs Harbour): Served blind, and immediately after the 2007 vintage of the same wine.
Cork. 16.5% alc.
Nose full of raisins, prunes, liqorice, dark chocolate and vanilla. Palate is full flavored, complex and lush and follows the nose. There's also leather and a mix of sweet and pure dark fruits. Is there a touch of heat here, compared to the 2007? The depth, density and texture of these wines is astounding. The finish is long, and carries both sweet and savoury nuances.
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7/21/2016 - Sotto325 wrote: 94 Points
Another wonderful art offering from the Master. Interesting, too, as I wondered if the hot 2003 weather,which definitely influenced his Valpolicella, would negatively impact the amarone. Not.
But interesting, too, was the slightly diffident profile that emerged. Some years, like 1983 and 1997, show everything in the amarone profile: dark red cherry, smoke, clay, leather,raisins, chocolate, deep velvelty viscosity,all falling short of any imputed port-like tendency.
The 2003 pushes toward more of the chocolate, with raisin and cherry prominent but in the back seat. An alluring nose of raisin , chocolate, some smokey wet wood and leather, gave way to chocolate and raisin tastes that increasing emphasized a lack of alcoholic heat and more sumptuous velvet.
Decanted for only 3 1/2 hours, as opposed other 6 normally needed.
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7/15/2016 - fcxj wrote: 94 Points
Can't mistake this as passito. Raisiny, portish on the nose. Sweet and long.
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4/15/2016 - fcxj wrote: 92 Points
Raisins to start, then nose became Bordeaux-like. Sweet, but balanced and pure.
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10/10/2015 - Papies wrote: 93 Points
Annual Pilgrimage to Piedmont - 2015 Edition; 10/9/2015-10/11/2015 (Piedmont, Italy): Came at the end of a legendary lunch at the beautiful Ciau Del Tornavento. Unfortunately by then palate fatigue means not a full tasting note here .
still a great wine, good rich core of fruit and very nice length. None of 2003 burnt shenanigans. Felt like a 93
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1/16/2015 - Jack Cranley wrote: 95 Points
Jammy cherries and blackberries on the nose and in the mouth. A little hot going down but no complaints. It's delightful. Finish of dried fruit or fruit leather. Very concentrated.
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11/11/2014 - Corgi wrote: 93 Points
Strong tannins give it a dry finish.
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10/24/2014 - Zweder wrote: 93 Points
A great Italian evening in Belgium: Beautiful bouquet with a lot of sweet impressions and beautiful ripe fruits. On the palette the same impressions, almost overripe dark and red berries, good acidity beside the sweet impressions.
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10/24/2014 - jkoenen wrote: 94 Points
Italian night @ Stappato (Enoteca Stappato, Leuven (Belgium)): Adored the dried fruit component of this wine, which makes the bouquet and palate really ripe, luxurious and complex, but doesn't make a very sweet impression. It's hearty, has a hint of luscious sweetness and hides its alcohol very well. Really excellent and unique.
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7/26/2014 - bonedocnine Likes this wine: 95 Points
WOTN. The crowd loved its sheer massiveness! Dried fruit and raisins and prunes. The wine paired well with the porkapoolooza.
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7/23/2014 - cardsandwine Likes this wine:
Classic Quintarelli Amarone. The fruit soared from the glass with great finesse and focus. It is very hard to describe these wines other than to say they are delicious and an unbelievable wine drinking experience. In my opinion the Quintarelli Amarone, both the classico and riserva, set the standard for this type of wine.
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5/18/2014 - mwanasheria wrote: 95 Points
Nose of freshly ground coffee, cassis, kirsch. On the palate sweet cherries, vanilla, chocolate.
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5/5/2014 - mwanasheria wrote: 96 Points
Coffee, cassis in the nose. Palate almost unctuous and creamy, but well balanced and not hot despite 16.5%. Vanilla, chocolate, dark cherries.
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7/16/2013 - fcxj wrote: 94 Points
At Quintarelli
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