Tasting Notes
The Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG classification accounts for about 25% of Valpolicella production. Amarone is produced from a similar blend of grapes though Molinara is not permitted. In this '3 Cru Amarone' the vintage mix is 60% Corvina, 25% Rondinella, 10% Corvinone & 5% Barbera (no Sangiovese this time as it was a warmer vintage), and the grapes are selected from Guerrieri Rizzardi's three recognised single vineyards - Calcarole, Rovereti and Pojega which is the vineyard whose grapes are also in my Valpolicella Ripasso. Calcarole is Guerrieri Rizzardi's number one Amarone but it was not produced in 2015, its grapes instead used to add weight and elegance to this wine.
Amarone is made from 'recioto' grapes, i.e. grapes that are dried pre-fermentation to increase their concentration and complexity. This wine is intense in more ways than one - in aromas, flavours, colour and tannins though the drying process also alters the tannins and acids so that the wine becomes very rich and balanced.
Of the grapes in this Amarone, Corvina brings elegance, aromas and acidity whilst Corvinone contributes colour, tannins and higher sugar levels. Rondinella adds floral notes to the aromas with Barbera bringing acidity, colour, body and fruit. This wine may need half an hour at room temperature to open up and reveal its ripe black cherry and blackberry fruit aromas & flavours. Also in evidence are more savoury flavours with warm spices from the oak. The tannins are softening as the wine ages in bottle. High alcohol is expected in Amarone due to the higher sugar content of the dried grapes and in this vintage it is 16% but the acidity also helps counter the richness of the wine making sure it is not too heavy. Very smooth!
Food Pairing
The producer suggests consuming this wine with "richly flavoured food like rib of beef, venison, pheasant. Cheeses such as mature Cimbro, Pecorino Vecchio and mature cheddar". It would work well with slightly sweet dishes, most other cheeses including Parmesan and Gorgonzola, cured meats, robust pasta dishes, Risotto all’amarone, dishes flavoured with balsamic vinegar, braised beef, lamb, strong-flavoured meats like wild boar, ox or veal cheek and oxtail, Wagyu beef etc
Producer's Notes
"Aromatic with ripe dark berried fruit alongside sweet spice leading to a palate that is full-bodied but not heavy. The fruit carries through with ripe dark berries, sweet raisin and subtle oak,. Well structured and maintaining good freshness; decant an hour before serving."
Awards
93 points Falstaff
"Powerful ruby garnet. Opens with notes of tobacco and licorice, ripe cherry behind. On the palate powerful, very well developed, grippy tannin, well integrated, long finish."
92 points Vinous
"The 2015 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 3 Cru has a sweetly spiced and opulent bouquet, showing candied cherries, blueberries, clove, butter cream and milk chocolate. It’s deeply textural and soothing, enveloping the palate in ripe blackberries and plums with mineral underpinnings, feeling weighty but perfectly balanced by brisk acids, with a more tart set of wild berries coming forward toward the close. This finishes like a black hole of structure and residual primary fruit, which leads me to believe that a few more years of cellaring may reveal even further depths. It’s an Amarone of contrasts that keeps you coming back to the glass."
