ALLEGRINI

April 13, 2018

ALLEGRINI Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico

(Veneto, Italy) $60

Amarone, one of the great red wine classics of Italy, is very difficult to make. Much ends up tasting like dull raisin syrup. But the greatest Amarones are exquisitely rich without being heavy. Their long sweeps of complex flavors are reminiscent of exotic spices, blackberry preserves and something a touch smoky. Seductively smooth, they are an oh-my-God moment when paired with mushroom risotto dusted with aged Parmigiano Reggiano. Allegrini makes one of the most ravishing Amarones around. This gorgeous 2009 year is still available on the market and at its peak right now.

96 points KM

Available at K & L Wines

Vintage Port is:

A. Bottled two to three years after fermentation then aged a long time in the bottle

B. Bottled 10 to 15 years after fermentation and then usually even longer by the ultimate consumer

C. Bottled after it has thrown a sediment

D. Bottled as soon as the governing body in Oporto formally declares it to be a Vintage year

A.

Vintage Ports are first aged just two years in barrel, to round off their powerful edges. Then—and this is the key—they are aged reductively (without oxygen) for a long time in bottle. During bottle aging, the Vintage Port matures slowly, becoming progressively more refined and integrated. A decade’s worth of aging is standard, and several decades used to be fairly common. Indeed, the 1970 Vintage Port is now, nearly fifty years later, considered to be one of the Ports to experience. And Ports from the 1950s are still amazingly lively on the palate. (The 1955 Cockburn’s is one of the most hauntingly luscious wines I have ever tasted or felt…it was sheer silk).

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ALLEGRINI

ALLEGRINI Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico

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