Does anybody drink Amarone?

WINE TALK
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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Hi Daniele
I think it was a personal project to recreate a historical style of wine, and that does make sense given (as you say) that Sfursat / Sforzato is long established in nearby Valtellina.

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This was solid overall.

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One of the lessons that I sort of knew was reinforced for me with a recent bottle of Roccolo Grassi Amarone - that these things really need a very long decant; they aren’t really wines that you can pull and pour on a whim. Here’s my latest TN from CT:

2009 Roccolo Grassi Amarone della Valpolicella - Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Amarone della Valpolicella (22/07/2022)
Nearly 4 years on from my last TN, I've realised the value of the decanter - this bottle (my last) got about 19 hours there before being rebottled to go to the restaurant where we paired it with Malaysian and Singaporean cuisine (without much chilli).

This is now an oustanding wine - the time in the decanter really allows it to get balanced. Despite being 16.5% there's no alcohol heat. The fruit is sweet dark red berries, full-bodied without being over-ripe. A touch of acidity, light smooth tannins. Complex, deep, but elegant also. Not at all a fruit bomb.

I wish I'd bought more of this at the ~US$46 that I got it a few years back. It is a wonderful wine. (95 points)

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I like Amarone with the cheese course. I can see it with game, too, like the pasta mentioned above. I have some new ideas to try out…thanks!

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Amarone is one of my favorite wines, but tbh I dont drink them too often. So far this year I have opened 10 Corvina based wines from Veneto (4 were Amarone).

This is compared to 28 Sangiovese (13-Brunello), 18 Nebbiolo (14-Barolo & Barbaresco).

I think that Amarone is just a bit more difficult to get right and the peak is not quite as long, but due to the process, the price is still high. Amarone fills a specific place for me though and I do not see the number I drink declining but maybe increasing a bit.

Recioto della Valpolicella is now also one of my favorite dessert wines as well. Next to Barolo Chinato, Sauternes and Ben Rye.

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I love Amarone and Recioto. But I agree with posters above, you gotta know what you’re getting into here. They are BIG wines with distinctly strong coffee and tobacco notes that go along with intense cherry fruit flavors. Cali Cab lovers drink Amarone and go, “Damn, that’s a big wine!” :smile: They are hedonistic pleasure but let’s all be clear here, you don’t drink them for their refreshing qualities. :slightly_smiling_face: When you use the appasimento dried grape method to make wine, you are giving up a lot of water and acidity to the ether in exchange for richness in texture and body and concentrated flavonoids.

Yes, they should be decanted especially if they have age on them. Yes, the food pairing leans specific ways due to how strong they are. Cheese and red meat are the way to go, though an Italian restaurant doing an Amarone paired dinner also served it to me with poultry dishes and that worked, too. Fish won’t work for the most part, except for tuna and a rich fatty salmon. You need something that will stand up to them the same way you need something that can stand up to richer wines like Cali Cab and Alsacian wine.

The problem with Amarone – actually all of these three wine categories – is that rich food and rich wine together always has the same effect: it makes you feel much fuller and drowsy. Rich food alone does that to us – just think of the effect every big Thanksgiving, Hannukah and Xmas feast has had on you – and adding a rich Amarone or Recioto doubles down on the effect. So know what you’re getting into.

All this said, they are worth it to me. No other red wine has the unique flavor combination of Amarone and Recioto. I’ve certainly detected tobacco, coffee and cherry notes in many other red wines I’ve drunk but never together with the intensity and smoothness that the appasimento method gives to wine. And now that this thread has me thinking about it, I’m going to open one tonight! :cheers:

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I love Amarone, but don’t drink a lot of it. Only 2 bottles in my cellar now.

I always try to pair it with northern Italian dishes, usually heavy beef dish with herbs (as opposed to cream sauces or spice).

Big wines, but I agree the last few offerings I’ve drank had too high of ABV and it powered through the fruit and structure.

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Amarone was what got me into wine back in the days. Still have a pretty big collection. But unfortunately my palate is completely opposite today - and I find them rather hard work to drink now. But was just thinking the other day I should open one and kind force myself to work my way through the old collection.

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A double magnum of ‘97 Dal Forno amarone, purchased at Dal Forno, opened in 2011 and shared with five others is the single best bottle of wine I have ever had.

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Did you carry it with you on the plane? :open_mouth:

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As promised, the thread got me in the mood to open an Amarone from my collection despite it being a pretty hot and humid day today. It’s all good, continuing what seems to be my new tradition of opening big reds during the hot summer.

So I opened up the Montecariano 2008 Amarone della Valpolicella. Holy Hannah, but this is good. Semi-translucent brick red in the glass, strongly alcoholic but not hot brandied cherry nose, and on the palate it’s got strong tobacco, dried cacao bean, and deep black cherry flavor. A little bit of phenolic bitterness on the finish. Creamy velvety smooth texture and mouthfeel all the way. A little surprise on the finish as the tannins come back to grip the palate and then a long and smooth amount of alcohol heat burn that lasts and lasts the way a very well aged Cognac or Scotch whisky lingers. The body is a big surprise, surprisingly light compared to what you’d normally expect from an Amarone. Nobody’s going to mistake this for a refreshing glass of chilled German Kabinett, mind you, but I’ll put it this way – I’ve certainly had much heavier red wines that weren’t done in the appasimento style. Is going superbly as a match with smoked Memphis sweet and hot rubbed chicken drumsticks.

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I really like Amarone.
Had a 2009 Dal Forno for our anniversary. One of the best wines I’ve ever had!
We usually drink wine on its own, and a glass will often intersect with a meal, but not necessarily.
Amarone is probably #2 in my cellar, behind Cabernet Sauvignon, with various Ports in 3rd place.
We will be travelling to Northern Italy in October and have reservations at Quinterelli and Marion for tastings.
Amarone is thick, rich and smooth, with lots of fruit which I think masks the alcohol.
Masi is my favorite because it’s good, affordable and consistent.
I started drinking Amarones when my daughters gave me a 3-pack of Masi wine splits, which included a 2004 Amarone. It was love at first sip.

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I’ve never found Masi affordable. Usually their regular Amarones are mid-tier and their top wines get very expensive (not Quintarelli / dal Forno expensive, but still).

And in my books Masi Costasera is the underperformer in the Amarone game. When tasting blind, I have probably never picked it up as an Amarone, just a big, alcoholic and rather boring wine. Come to think of it, often even many affordable Amarones are much more impressive than Costasera.

OTOH, the difference between Costasera and Costasera Riserva is huge - often you can get (or you could get - I haven’t checked how the Amarone scene is for half a decade or more) for just 10-15€ more, but the quality seems to double. While Masi Costasera is a wine I’d never buy for myself, Costasera Riserva has constantly been a great example of a big winery Amarone.

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For those visiting Verona I would steer you to the walled city (town) of Soave. I’d actually stay in a motel outside it’s gates for 25-30 years while doing business in the greater area. (I’ve sold rides to Gardaland…). Inside the gates, immediately to the left is an enoteca and restaurant that had Dal Forno and Quintarellifor two thirds of what you would pay in Verona. Dal Gorno valpolicella was E 35 there in 2012. Now, ten years later, it may be E 45-50. But with the US dollar 1-1to the Euro that is a fantastic price for Dal Forno valpolicella. Seriously good ripasso was E 10 in there, too.

Outside, on the street, people my age played games on Soave’s walled streets while sipping wine. I saw and tasted this dating back to the 80’s. Now 75 myself I wish I would have bought a second home (condo) in Soave.

Venezia was a half hour east and Verona a half hour west. In the middle is one of the world’s great wine regions. Soave is it’s center. Just wandering around this thousand + year old walled town (ground zero for the Veneto) is a special memory that I wish others, reading this, could experience.

Soave.

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Great history, thanks for sharing!

P.s. I’m privably the only person under 30 yo living north of the Po river who’s never been to Gardaland (not that I regret that)

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