2003 Giuseppe Quintarelli Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva
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Tasting notes
Quintarelli's 2003 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva does not appear to have budged much over the last few years. Still intense and tannic, the 2003 will benefit from some aeration as it is a forbidding wine. Super-ripe dark stone fruit, chocolate, leather and licorice notes abound, but as is so often the case with these wines, the whole is far greater than the sum of the parts. The 2003 has enough depth to drink well for another 15-20 years, maybe more.
Critic scores
Monica Larner, Wine Advocate
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2003 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva awards a truly exceptional emotional charge for reasons that go beyond the technical tasting attributes of the wine. There is the nostalgic recognition that this would be one of the last vintages made, all hands on deck, by Giuseppe Quintarelli before his struggle with Parkinson's disease and his death at 84 in 2012. I tasted bottle number 4,780 of only 5,973 made. The Riserva is only produced in truly exceptional years and represents the single-best barrel of the bunch. Sadly the wine is heavily saddled with overripe aromas and a strong blast of 17% alcohol that are hard to see past. Of course, 2003 was an extremely hot vintage. The bouquet here is overplayed with heavy-footed aromas of dried fruit, smoked cedar wood, crushed brimstone and balsam herb. Given the greatest of the estate's other wines, my expectations of this wine were not met.
Kirsch, cloves, leather and licorice are some of the many notes that emerge from Quintarelli’s 2003 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva. Dark, powerful and brooding, the Riserva is a bit less marked by the year than the straight bottling. Here it is the wine’s explosive, full-bodied finish that stands out most. This is a fascinating wine from Quintarelli. I am a bit surprised to see a Riserva in 2003, but it works, and beautifully. When they are on, these wines are utterly hypnotizing, as is the case here.
The 2003 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva awards a truly exceptional emotional charge for reasons that go beyond the technical tasting attributes of the wine. There is the nostalgic recognition that this would be one of the last vintages made, all hands on deck, by Giuseppe Quintarelli before his struggle with Parkinson's disease and his death at 84 in 2012. I tasted bottle number 4,780 of only 5,973 made. The Riserva is only produced in truly exceptional years and represents the single-best barrel of the bunch. Sadly the wine is heavily saddled with overripe aromas and a strong blast of 17% alcohol that are hard to see past. Of course, 2003 was an extremely hot vintage. The bouquet here is overplayed with heavy-footed aromas of dried fruit, smoked cedar wood, crushed brimstone and balsam herb. Given the greatest of the estate's other wines, my expectations of this wine were not met. May 2017, www.robertparker.com