Amarone Della Valpolicella on a budget? "Say no more, fam" as the young whippersnappers allegedly would say! A good 2 hours of decanting in a tempered carafe let this well made and inviting wine really open up for us. And such beautiful, dark, on the verge of black, redness... Goodness me.
On the nose there is such expressive clouds of confiture de cassis, crushed cherries, perique tobacco and ceder... This is very much the reason why I enjoy Amarone-wine so much, even a more wallet-friendly sort such as this really envelopes you and reels you in... I mean, if you're in to that sort of thing.
So how about the palate? Well, we definitely get those same fruits, together with a firm earthiness and warmth of rum soaked raisins. However, you get a little bit too much heat from the alcohol here, which is why this doesn't cut it above the 90+ point mark for me. Balance is a delicate issue and here it just about misses the mark for me, but let me stress that this is a very enjoyable wine in the end!
Served with freshly made pappardelle tossed in a emulsion of copious amounts of butter, gorgonzola dolce and Parmigiana Reggiano, topped off with toasted hazelnuts.
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4.2?? Nose of cedar and some VA when opened, both dissipated over the course of a couple hours. ~ Amarena cherry, sour cherry on nose. Drifts darker on palate and towards fig. Noted hints of leather and 5 spice blend on nose though not dominating. Dense and interesting, this actually went better with food than without, not as I expected, but perhaps I learned lesson. ~ Med+ body, tannin sugary Texture split difference between Sangiovese and powdery tannin. Dry and only med- acid though it felt in balance.
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Did not hit me the same way it did a few weeks ago. Still quite good, lots of aromas going on, but the fruit seemed tucked away and the tannins stronger in this bottle.
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At Sorellina, Traverse City. Medium plus finish and acidity. Bold dark fruit flavor. A little alcohol heat (14.5 abv) grippy tannins. This is young and hasn't peaked yet. Will drink well for 5 or more years. Really opened as our meal progressed. Aromas of Vanilla, hints of black licorice, graphite, black cherry, mocha.
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5/2/2024 - 1961Vintage Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still wonderful and rich in flavor.
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11/6/2022 - Burkas wrote: 77 Points
Bra, men hade någon konstig eftersmak
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3/18/2022 - Smilga Likes this wine: 89 Points
Amarone Della Valpolicella on a budget? "Say no more, fam" as the young whippersnappers allegedly would say!
A good 2 hours of decanting in a tempered carafe let this well made and inviting wine really open up for us. And such beautiful, dark, on the verge of black, redness... Goodness me.
On the nose there is such expressive clouds of confiture de cassis, crushed cherries, perique tobacco and ceder... This is very much the reason why I enjoy Amarone-wine so much, even a more wallet-friendly sort such as this really envelopes you and reels you in... I mean, if you're in to that sort of thing.
So how about the palate? Well, we definitely get those same fruits, together with a firm earthiness and warmth of rum soaked raisins. However, you get a little bit too much heat from the alcohol here, which is why this doesn't cut it above the 90+ point mark for me. Balance is a delicate issue and here it just about misses the mark for me, but let me stress that this is a very enjoyable wine in the end!
Served with freshly made pappardelle tossed in a emulsion of copious amounts of butter, gorgonzola dolce and Parmigiana Reggiano, topped off with toasted hazelnuts.
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11/2/2020 - csnyder612 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Similar to my notes in December, 2019. Tannins have mellowed some. Still excellent.
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10/22/2020 - pkatz Likes this wine: 90 Points
Very pleasant Amarone-lite. More like good generic red.
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5/23/2020 - DaveNC Likes this wine: 93 Points
Nice fruit and moderately grippy tannins.
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5/8/2020 - jdkrabbe wrote: 95 Points
4.2??
Nose of cedar and some VA when opened, both dissipated over the course of a couple hours. ~ Amarena cherry, sour cherry on nose. Drifts darker on palate and towards fig. Noted hints of leather and 5 spice blend on nose though not dominating. Dense and interesting, this actually went better with food than without, not as I expected, but perhaps I learned lesson. ~ Med+ body, tannin sugary
Texture split difference between Sangiovese and powdery tannin. Dry and only med- acid though it felt in balance.
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5/2/2020 - DaveNC Likes this wine: 94 Points
Did not hit me the same way it did a few weeks ago. Still quite good, lots of aromas going on, but the fruit seemed tucked away and the tannins stronger in this bottle.
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2/27/2020 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
Chocolate cola on the nose. And bold on the palate in a fake way. Cheap fruit, cheap oak.
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12/1/2019 - csnyder612 Likes this wine: 91 Points
At Sorellina, Traverse City. Medium plus finish and acidity. Bold dark fruit flavor. A little alcohol heat (14.5 abv) grippy tannins. This is young and hasn't peaked yet. Will drink well for 5 or more years. Really opened as our meal progressed. Aromas of Vanilla, hints of black licorice, graphite, black cherry, mocha.
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