2017 Amarone della Valpolicella
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Tasting notes
This was a very hot and dry vintage that created the conditions for especially intense and structured wines made with air-dried grapes. The Quintarelli Giuseppe 2017 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico is indeed a wine of power and heft. This blend of Valpolicella grapes (Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, Cabernet, Nebbiolo, Croatina and Sangiovese) is sourced from 11 hectares of vines in limestone and basalt soils. The 2017 vintage delivers dried fruit aromas of plum and blackberry over an open-knit, oxygen-rich and accessible approach. There is tar, spice and sweet cherry confit at the back. A theme of sweet, brandied fruit links into a well-balanced 16.5% alcohol content. This wine was bottled in November 2023 and has been on the market since March 2024. This wine was not made in 2016, and the fruit went to the Rosso del Bepi instead.
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Monica Larner, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Complex aromas of cigar box, incense, black cherry fruit and bay leaves with balsamic notes. The palate is creamy, off-dry and velvety, with a full body and long, refreshing acidity. There is a lot of sucrosity and spices. A generous wine with a lush, well-balanced palate. Drink or hold.
A 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 tones emerge toward the close. The 2017 lingers impossibly long yet remains completely fresh. Grippy tannins remain as hints of dried blueberry and lavender resonate throughout. The Quintarelli winery has been working hard to perfect a style that mixes the magic of older vintages with a new level of freshness, and the 2017 is a big step in the right direction. Bravo.