Amarone

[Stone]

A while back I went to a little Italian joint with some friends, and they ordered a bottle of amarone. They spoke of it as if it would be quite different from the merlots, pinots, etc. that I'm used to. I don't remember it being so specia, but, one guy, who had been a sommelier, said the bottle was not very good.

I recently picked up an Amarone Della Valplicella from Allegrini.

What should I expect from this, if anything?

Edited December 6, 2002 by Dstone001 (log)

[Beachfan]

Valpolicella is an area in the Veneto. I first had Amarone (by Allegrini) in Venice, and I loved it. Interestingly enough, the price of the same bottle varied dramatically in restaurants of similar quality. This was several years ago, but it went anywhere between $25 and $60. The $25 was a bargain, since when I hunted it locally at retail, it was more than that.

The major grapes that go into Amarone are Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara (ok, I looked it up, I never heard of Molinara before). The key is that they are dried on timber racks after harvesting. The raisin like grapes are then fermented after a few months of drying.

To me, Amarone is port like, because of it's sweetness, fruit core, and chewiness. It often ages extremely well.

Allegrini is a great producer of Amarone del Valpolicella. Other names include Dalforno, Quintarelli and Masi. 1996 and 1997 were great years. The 1990 is drinking well now, and the 1993s, which seemed a little lighter than 1990, are also drinking well.

[Steve Plotnicki]

Beachfan's post has good information. But the dal Forno is the Rolls Royce of Amarones. It retails in the U.S. for over $200 a bottle. None of the other producers make wine in that price range.

[Beachfan]

Actually, Quintarelli is in a price range under Dal Forno, but well above the others. Wine-searcher lists some hefty triple digit prices.

I haven't had either the dal Forno or Quintarelli, but the Allegrini was in the $35 range until a few years ago, now, I get it at about $50. Very fine stuff.

Edited December 6, 2002 by Beachfan (log)

[Stone]

When you say port-like, do you mean it should be an after-dinner wine?

[Robert Nesta Marley]

no, not an after-dinner wine. amarone is vinified dry. it's got dried raisin, perhaps prune notes that parallel those in some porto.

excellent with a cheese course . . .

i'd add bussola to the list of recommended producers. they're very sweet people.

[Tonyfinch]

I think Beachfan is confusing Amarone with Recioto Della Valpolicella which is sweet and indeed has similarities to Port.

Amarone is the dry version of that wine and is recommended for strong meat and game dishes and for cheeses. It will often be labelled as Recioto Della Valpolicella Amarone,so it can easily be confused with the sweeet version if you don't read the label properly.

[Charles Smith]

OK!!! time for some hard core geeking out on Italian wine!!

Amarone and Valpolicella are the made with the same varietals with markedly different ways of making the wine. Valpo is vinified in the "normal" way- when amarone is made the grapes are dried out for weeks on

straw mats prior to making the wine, so that the wines are essentially made from raisins.

recioto della valpolicella is made in the same fashion, but fermentation is stopped before all of the residual sugar is turned into alcohol, making it a sweet wine. the legend is that amarone was a mistake by a wine maker who let a recioto ferment completely. most, if not all of the best producers have been listed previously- if you get a chance to drink any of Quintarelli's dessert wines (recioto or amabile) they are tremendous.

Cheers,

Charles

[Beachfan]

I think Beachfan is confusing Amarone with Recioto Della Valpolicella which is sweet and indeed has similarities to Port.

I wasn't confusing the two, but I didn't express myself clearly. Amarone is indeed fermented dry (or close to it), but most people will still taste some residual sweetness to it (anyone know the residual sugar levels?). Raisiny or pruney are common descriptors for the wine.

It is definitely not a desert wine though.

[hollywood]

Trader Joe has a passable Amarone for $9.99. Might be interesting to compare it with yours.

[mogsob]

The widely available Amarones from Zenato are good examples of the modern style. For my money, I would drink the Vigneto Mazzano bottling from Masi above all others -- but, very hard to find.

[klinger75]

1993 Zenato amarone drinking quite well at the moment. Drank last monday.

[Adam Balic]

Of course it is a matter of personal taste, but I really like these wines with a significant amount of age (15+), otherwise they come across as giant fruit bombs to me. I drank a 1997 Speri recently and this was the case for this wine. Will re-vist in 10 years time.

If you are not in the same league as Plotnicki (and let's face it who is? ) then you may try to track down some Bertani Amarone. The produce a more old fashioned Armone, which really has to be drank afer some cellaring, however they tend to release older vintages of wine then the other producers. Depending where you are you should be able to track down the 1985 vintage. Excellent wine, I could sniff a glass all day.

Amarone is going through a period of popularity, so a lot of wine that was going into straight valpolicella is now going through the amarone process. I wonder what this is doing for the quality?

Edited December 10, 2002 by Adam Balic (log)

[Tonyfinch]

I just read that labelling laws have changed and the wine can't be labelled "Recioto Della Valpolicella Amarone" any more. It must be labelled "Amarone Della Valpolicella". In the UK Unwins do a decent example which won out at a tasting recently. Can't remember the maker but its around 12 quid.

[helenas]

Tasters Guild New York will be hosting the following event:

FOUR DECADES OF AMARONE

Date: Thursday, January 23, 2003 Location: Hotel Shelburne

Speaker: Charles Scicolone, Wine Writer and Educator

According to Italian Wine for Dummies, Amarones are "rich, heady and robust." Michael Weiss, in Exploring Wine, states that these wines are "powerhouses full of rich and warming fruit." Fifteen delicious wines – the perfect way to start the new season. Wines: 1962, 1967, 1974,1977, 1979, 1980, 1988 Bertani; 1971, 1977, 1981, 1983 Tommasi; 1974, 1977 Boscaini; 1986 Righetti and 1995 Masi.

Members: $115.00 Limited to 18 attendees Non-members: $130.00

[David De Silva]

I agree with beachfan that a good Amarone has a port-like nose due to the drying of the grapes and can be pruney as well. I think a good bargain is a good Valpolicella ripasso, not like a fine Amarone, but still quite good. Recently had a lovely Santa Sofia (forget what year) Amarone that was quite fine.

[Craig Camp]

Trader Joe has a passable Amarone for $9.99.  Might be interesting to compare it with yours.

$10 Amarone - That's a bit scary. It is very expensive to make serious Amarone.

[Craig Camp]

When you say port-like, do you mean it should be an after-dinner wine?

No not an after dinner wine in the sweet sense as Amarone is dry as mentioned by other posters, but most definitely an after main course wine. Amarone with it 15% plus alcohol levels overwhelms almost everything, except maybe aged cignale (wild boar) which most of us don't eat very often. A great cheese course wine.

The prices of this wine have been driven up by the demand in the USA which is fed by Italian American restaurants where it has become very popular over the years, (you can still taste it after 3 martinis) where it is consumed with little attention to producer name or quality. This demand means there is a lot of lousy Amarone out there to avoid.

At its best it is a great and dramatic wine. The names Quintarelli and Dal Forno have become legendary which is interesting considering they produce wines in totally opposite styles.

I certainly recommend the Speri, Allegrini Teneta Sant'Antonio and would also recommend a special search for Corte Sant'Alda.

[oraklet]

craig,

"This demand means there is a lot of lousy Amarone out there to avoid."

what kind of lousyness can one expect in a lousy amarone?

[Craig Camp]

craig,

"This demand means there is a lot of lousy Amarone out there to avoid."

what kind of lousyness can one expect in a lousy amarone?

Lousy 1.

All alcohol - no elegance or balance and they taste like they are made from prunes instead of grapes.

Lousy 2.

Tastes like Vapolicella with Spanish brandy added to it. (no insult to Spanish brandy intended)

Lousy 3.

Tastes like it has been aged in a car trunk in Florida in August for a couple of weeks.

[Tonyfinch]

Wot Craig said plus very thick,heavy and unbalanced-bit like a lot of people I know really