This Week's Must-Try Wines from Vinous
Azienda Agricola Musella
Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore Corvina Blend 2017
The 2017 Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso is spicy and wickedly fresh with crushed raspberries, cloves and sweet rose tones. This is silky-smooth and elegant, with a mineral tinge that adds a salty edge to its intense tart red berries, giving way to clove. It is generous yet motivated by stunning acidity, tapering off long and staining, leaving autumnal spice and sweet tannin. The warmth of the 2017 vintage brought production down by 22%, yet it imparted the Ripasso with a sexy, if immediate, style. (Eric Guido, Vinous, April 2022)
— 3 years ago
Ca' La Bionda
Valpolicella Classico Corvina Blend 2020
The 2020 Valpolicella Classico is a super-fresh, floral and peppery expression, with wild strawberries and crushed stone filling its bouquet. This is purity personified with vivid strawberry and cherry-berry fruits, hints of spice and minerals. It’s simply a pleasure, so finessed and lively, and leaves a saline tinge and the palate completely refreshed. (Eric Guido, Vinous, April 2022)
— 3 years ago
Allegrini
Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Corvina Blend 2017
The 2017 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico pulls you close to the glass with its beguiling bouquet, mixing spicy tangerine and hints of animal musk, giving way to black cherries, rose and cedar spice box. It’s potent and elegant, yet elevated by bright acidity and a cool-toned core of saline-minerals. Sour cherry and exotic spices linger under an air of rosy florals with a chalk-like smoky note. This is only lightly structured and a total pleasure to taste today. (Eric Guido, Vinous, April 2022)
— 3 years ago
Giuseppe Quintarelli
Valpolicella Classico Superiore Corvina Blend 2014
The 2014 Valpolicella Superiore Classico is pretty and understated with nuances of strawberry, hints of white smoke and dusty rose. This is lean in feel yet cool-toned and lifted, with mineral-tinged wild berry fruits and a savory herbal streak that saturates the palate. It tapers off long and almost salty, with violet and lavender tones that linger. The 2014 is a less powerful yet very pretty version of Quintarelli Valpolicella. It was tasted twice, once from a fresh bottle and then tasted from a bottle that was opened three days prior. (Eric Guido, Vinous, April 2022)
— 3 years ago
Azienda Agricola Musella
Riserva Amarone della Valpolicella Corvina Blend 2015
The 2015 Amarone della Valpolicella Riserva is heady and sweet on the nose, as confectioners' spice and dusty cherries give way to hints of pipe tobacco. It’s rich and velvety yet maintains admirable freshness, as minerals and sweet tannins add tension toward the close. I like the contrasts of salty and sweet here, as notes of dark chocolate and balsam herbs cascade across the palate. This tapers off lightly structured and staining, with primary concentration leaving pretty florals and hints of licorice. Color me impressed; the 2015 is a wildly successful Amarone Riserva. I tasted this in February 2021, yet today's performance is definitely a step up. (Eric Guido, Vinous, April 2022)
— 3 years ago
Allegrini
Palazzo della Torre Veronese Corvina Blend 2018
The 2018 Palazzo della Torre comes to life in the glass with a vibrant mix of balsam herbs, black cherries and cloves. It’s cool-toned in feel, yet silky and stacked with dark fruits and exotic spices. A tantalizing mix of zesty acids and minerals keeps the energy high, as the 2018 tapers off potent yet completely balanced and fresh. The Palazzo della Torre is fantastic, especially at this price point. After tasting the 2017 last year, I was a little worried about a stylistic change, but talk about making a comeback. This is a mix of Corvina Veronese, Corvinone, Rondinella and Sangiovese, where a small portion of the grapes are left to raisin for three months prior to vinification. (Eric Guido, Vinous, April 2022)
— 3 years ago
Giuseppe Quintarelli
Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Corvina Blend 2013
The 2013 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico pulls you toward the glass with an intense display of crushed raspberries and clove, along with hints of tangerine and smoke. This is cool-toned and energetic, with exotic sweet spices and hints of mint giving way to depths of ripe cherries, confectionery spice and cocoa. It possesses a nervous core of acidity, yet also a totally classic feel. There’s a citrusy twist of sweet and sour and vivid inner rose and autumnal spices. The 2013 is powerful and deep, yet also full of energy, tapering off long and lightly structured. It's just begging for a little time in the cellar to fully come together. (Eric Guido, Vinous, April 2022)
— 3 years ago
Masi
Costasera Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Corvina Blend 2016
The 2016 Amarone Classico Costasera wafts up with rich notes of custard, cinnamon and dark chocolate before revealing its black cherry fruit. This is silky-smooth yet deep with herbal-tinged red and blue berries along with exotic inner florals. There’s a beautiful harmony here, as purple-tinged florals and autumnal spices linger incredibly long. The 2016 is only lightly structured, full of character and incredibly elegant. It’s a balanced pleasure bomb of an Amarone. (Eric Guido, Vinous, April 2022)
— 3 years ago
Bertani
Valpolicella Classico Corvina Blend 2020
There’s a mentholated freshness that keeps me coming back to the 2020 Valpolicella, as bright cherries, licorice and hints of smoke form its bouquet. It is soft-textured and pure, with red berries and minerals motivated by brisk acids. This leaves rosy florals and a gentle tug of tannin, making for a pleasantly dry finale. (Eric Guido, Vinous, April 2022)
— 3 years ago
Delectable Wine
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The 2015 Amarone della Valpolicella is surprisingly fresh and floral, with dusty cherry and plum complemented by mint and tobacco leaves. This is a suave and sexy style, as silken textures give way to fleshy ripe red and black fruits, with cocoa and autumnal spices resonating throughout. The 2015 is potent yet remarkably fresh and showy. It stains the palate in concentration and, while structured, it is simply delicious today. A minute goes by, and sweet herbs and violet candies still remain. (Eric Guido, Vinous, April 2022)
— 3 years ago