Not much. The alcohol levels of modern Amarone do make it harder to get to the table.
Bottles I’ve had and enjoyed include the following producers: Speri, Serego Alighieri, Marco Mosconi (though I’d take their dessert recioto della Valpolicella in preference). Roccolo Grassi also very good, but for me it was their Valpolicella that shone.
I’ve also had few clumsy Amarone wines.
I cant stand the intense raisin/ prune aromas and the 16%+ alcohol. Too much for me.
I do enjoy some of the single vineyard bottlings from Brigaldara from time to time. No raisins. Alcohol does get up there but it is not noticeable. These age very well too!
Thanks Ian! I’ve come across all those names and only tried Mosconi but it qas many years ago and disnxt have much awareness of wine in general.
But you make a good point: if you want to try the area, you can always opt for Valpolicella Superiore and Ripasso and I usually tend to appreciate those more (still not drinking much) especially if you factor in the money saving
Hi Daniele
I’d agree with you on value, especially for Valpolicella, and that’s more praise for Valpolicella than criticism of Amarone. Perhaps Recioto is more expensive, but I do think there is also stunning value to be had (even ignoring the extra effort/cost to make them).
One good thing about visiting the region, is that it’s easy to include Soave as well, as they’re effectively joined. Soave itself is rather pleasant to visit, but the wines IMO have improved faster than their reputation (that was badly devalued in the 1970s - 1990s)
First let me apologize for the poor spelling in the previous message, on mobile the site doesn’t let me see what i’m typing with the open keyboard + I was on a tram so everything was kinda shaking 
Here the average perception of Soave is indeed quite low, lots of mediocre products swarm supermarket shelves and low tier restaurants, but I’ve been quite lucky with 2 good expressions (one wasn’t Soave but IGT, 100% Garganega as well, they did something fancy with vinification probably so they couldn’t call it Soave)
Thank you mate! I saw that thread earlier before opening this but I accidentally misread the title like “Amarone for Amarone” and didn’t make much sense regarding the possible content of the thread 
gonna give it a read!
We did this tasting two weeks ago. The older wines (from 1979 and 84) were in pristine conditon. Tanins were not gone, but very smooth. These wines have a lot of life left. The younger vintages (2015 and 16) reminded me of a young Brunello. They were drinkable, but I will hold for a few more years. Amarone seems to age a lot like Barolo.
That’s an intresting (and good sized) tasting!
Never heard about Bolla, the other 3 are pretty “common”. Allegrini is usually considered part of the holy trinity along with Dal Forno and Quintarelli, altho often placed 3rd. They have introduced not that long ago a Riserva called “Fieramonte”, don’t know if you’ve ever seen it around. I also believe Allegrini family is broadening its offer more compared to the other 2 producers, they acquired land in Bolgheri and started to produce wine there as well.
Another produced i tried as Ripasso but see generally kept in good regard by people I trust (the same who don’t drink much Amarone anymore, or maybe never drunk much in the first place, that might mean something?) is “Monte dei Ragni”, don’t know if it’s available in USA.
I’m guessing Anselmi for the IGT wine? I do like their wines.
Pieropan gets the most recognition, and rightly so as being at the forefront of re-establishing Soave as a quality wine.
For me however Gini’s Contrada Salvarenza is my firm favourite, and it ages well for a decade, maybe longer.
IGT is from Fasoli Gino, I liked their Valpolicella Superiore tasted at a restaurant, then bought a new bottle directly from his site (they don’t sell on online shops) and decided to add the IGT “Pieve Vecchia” to justify the shipping cost. It was a nice wine and I’m just now shocked to see it’s 15,5% in ABV for the 2018, because that’s not what I tasted, maybe 2017 was lower? It was definitely a “fattish” wine but not overpowered.
World is small: I tried Gini’s Contrada Salvarenza Vecchie Vigne last saturday evening at dinner, I liked it! Slightly aromatic, still elegant, definitely different from the Fasoli. They wanted to pair it with fallow deer sauce pasta, was skeptical but decided to trust the somm. The wine raised to the occasion, probably because the pasta had very little fallow deer as well
Certainly a BIG Valpo Superiore and Ripasso fan. In fact, a big fan of the wines of the Veneto generally. The wines tend to offer a great sense of place and very good freshness at a great value. Love Amarone as well, though I drink much more Ripasso. I feel like the Veneto and the Marche or the regions in Italy that are really killing it with quality at low prices right now. Btw - I consider Quintarelli and even Dal Forno wines great value, given the amazing quality of those wines. If their Amarone were SV Barolo it would be 3x the price.
While a bit off topic, but still Veneto / Garda - the San Leonardo wines are wonderful and in my opinion compete VERY well with the super tuscan wines you mentioned before.
It’s not Amarone, but Americans drink a lot of the Allegrini ‘Palazzo del Torre’. I think that ripasso style is pretty acceptable to casual consumers. I like it too and will buy it when traveling.
Yes Palazzo della torre and La Grola are pretty widely available “base wines”. Tried both I’d say “out of necessity” when I was in places that didn’t have something more intresting, but they are good wine.
I have a 2015 La Poja (which is their top wine below the 2 Amarone, altho it’s a different thing) and I can’t wait to open it because the bottle has an odd shape and it creates issues with other bottles on the same shelf 
for the food match comment. A little can go a long way, and traditional Italian cooking is brilliant at achieving this, but it can be taken to extremes!
I’m not sure it’s a pairing I would have thought of, but I like that they came up with it and it worked.
I find Timorasso (from Derthona/Tortona) very handy for those moments where we’re debating over red or white. There are a range of styles (from light to heavy), but nonetheless it seems to be very flexible in food matching.
It was pasta with fallow deer tomato sauce, fior sardo cheese, raising, oregano and lemon. The pair worked imho because the fallow deer, while being put first in the descritpion, wasn’t much there. Don’t imagine something like this https://media-assets.lacucinaitaliana.it/photos/61fb130ae334e788eab040b9/1:1/w_1920,c_limit/Tagliatelle-con-ragù-alla-bolognese.jpg
Indeed, with tomato and lemon (and the Sardo) there, I can see the logic of a white wine with a decent cut of acidity, but also enough depth. On that basis, the wine feels a very sensible choice.
Coming back to Amarone, I was tempted last weekend to open the sole bottle I have of Travaglini’s Il Sogno (the dream). The tasting was a fun / non serious ‘blind tasting from hell’, the sort that it’s virtually impossible to guess. That wine being Nebbiolo from Gattinara, but made in an Amarone style.
I didn’t know they made Amarone style from Nebbiolo in Gattinara.
I know they make Sfursat from Chiavennasca (Nebbiolo) in Valtellina(and there as well I prefer Valtellina Superiore). Would be intresting to learn if Travaglini “copied” the style because it was popular on the market or if it’s something that developed more naturally.
Hi Daniele,
I used to drink lots of Amarone (and Recioto) and had 100+ bottles in my cellar, primarily of Quintarelli, Bertani, Tomassi, Masi, Zenato, Le Ragose, and also Dal Forno and Tomasso Bussola. I probably drank two bottles a month and enjoyed some outstanding aged bottles of Bertani from the 1960s. It was my second favorite wine after Barolo/Barbaresco. However, my tastes significantly changed and I found I no longer enjoyed the intense body and alcohol. I eventually sold the remaining bottles. But I didn’t have any interest in Super Tuscans or Napa Cabs either, so I don’t think that is a parallel taste. Now I mostly drink high acid whites and Champagne. Go figure.
