2017 Giuseppe Quintarelli Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOCG, Veneto, Italy

Winemaker NotesQuintarelli’s dry Amarone is crafted from a selection of their most flawless grapes, picked at the perfect moment, and then left to slowly dehydrate on special racks in a custom-built, ventilated loft above their home. The grapes slowly concentrate their flavors as the water in them evaporates naturally. They are pressed around Christmastime, and the wine is fermented largely dry, then left to age and refine for many years in large Slavonian oak casks. The resulting wine is the grandest expression of these Veronese hills, a full-bodied, kaleidoscopic wine, to be enjoyed with fine roasts and cheeses.PressA total seductress, the 2017 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico is a dark beauty. It opens with a dusty bouquet of dried flowers and masses of cherry sauce, offset by spiced orange and nuances of violet pastille. It sweeps across the palate, a model of purity, with crisp wild berry fruits energized by tantalizing acidity and shavings of dark chocolate. Crunchy mineral to