2015 San Rustico Amarone della Valpolicella Classico

Happy Sunday!  It's been a slow, rainy day here, though I managed a couple hours between raindrops to remove some fencing temporarily in anticipation of a tree removal tomorrow morning.  But now I'm back inside, finishing laundry and making Sunday dinner.  For tonight's festivities, I've opened a bottle of a perennial favorite Italian variety that I recently bought from Wines Till Sold Out.  The 2015 San Rustico Amarone della Valpolicella Classico is a blend of Corvina and Corvinone (68%), Rondinella (27%) and Molinara (5%), dried for three months before pressing.  So, let's see how this wonderful and interesting wine is shaping up!

The wine is a deep ruby color in the glass, with nice clarity.  A gentle swirl of the glass releases aromas of black cherry, kirsch and warm spices, with undertones of smoke and earthy loam.  Take a sip and your senses make and abrupt turn with a rush of sweet ripe cherry, blackberry and prune that very gradually evolves into some white pepper spice and bit of charred oak.  The tannins are nicely structured for the long, smooth dry finish with a reprise of spice notes on the very end.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, as it's just a very pleasant drinking wine and it was a great value at just $30.  This wine would be perfect with steaks or game meat, such as bison, elk or lamb, as well as smoky barbecue.  Tonight I've taken a different approach and am enjoying this wine with some bucatini with mussels fra diavalo, as the spice and acidity of the sauce marries well with the up-front sweetness of this wine.  Cheers!

2007 Giuseppe Campagnola Amarone della Valpolicella

Happy Independence Day eve!  Yes, summer is in full swing and the fireworks are blazing, but it's also the first Saturday in July, which means this is Cellar Saturday!  I will open a bottle of something at least a decade in the making and share it with you.  Tonight I've dug out a nice Italian wine (I'm convinced that the big wines of Italy are best when they are allowed to mature for at least a decade), one that I'm not sure where I bought it, the 2007 Giuseppe Campagnola Amarone della Valpolicella.  Amarone is a special wine from the north of Italy, where the grapes are allowed to dry before pressing, revealing a fabulous concentration of flavor.  So let's see how this one is tasting!

The wine is a deep, inky purple in the glass with lovely garnet along the edges, making this look more like a Cabernet than a Valpolicella.  After letting this one breathe for an hour or so, a quick swirl in the glass reveals rustic aromas of leather, anise, green grass and mulberry.  Take a sip and you get unexpected flavors of strawberry, ripe cherry and plum that transition easily to some earthy notes of peat and dusty limestone midpalate.  The tannins are nicely structured to provide a great base for the long dry finish, with a quick burst of acidity at the end.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, as it has certainly come into its own over the past 14 years.  This wine would be ideal with lamb, wild mushroom risotto, or a hearty steak.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a prime tomahawk ribeye grilled Pittsburgh rare, topped with some of the last of the season's garlic scapes and some grilled asparagus. Cheers!

2007 Lena di Mezzo Amarone della Valpolicella

Happy Valentine's Day!  I have to admit that this holiday always reminds me of the wonderful Italian Amarone, a wonderfully robust and intense wine made from the Valpolicella grape, dried on mats and pressed to extract the concentrated juice that becomes a most wonderful wine.  Like a lot of the great Italian wines, I am convinced that they really don't reach their prime until at least a decade after harvest, which is why I'm happy to be opening this 2007 Lena di Mezzo Amarone della Valpolicella.  So let's see how it tastes.

The wine is a beautifully deep ruby color in the glass.  The nose just overflows from the glass, spreading aromas reminiscent of an old Italian kitchen around the room, notes of dried Italian herbs, anise, peppery spice, ripe blackberry and kirsch that just feel classically old world.  The taste is delightfully complex, with a rush of blackberry, prune and kirsch that transitions to some spice notes and tart cherry midpalate.  The finish is just delightful, with structured tannins providing a base for the long, smooth and voluptuous finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it's somewhat less fruit forward and sweet than the traditional Amarone, but one which I really enjoy.  This wine would be ideal with a variety of hard cheeses, wild mushroom risotto, or just about any classic Italian dish.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a more simple dinner of fusilli topped with a spicy Italian sausage marinara.  The rich black fruit of the wine is a perfect foil for the spicy sauce.  As one of my favorite TV chefs, Lidia Bastianich would say, tutti a tavola a mangiare!

2010 Viticoltori in Valpantena Amarone della Valpolicella

I was in Florida this week for work and finally arrived back home last night, so today has been catch up day for all my household chores, including taking down the last of the Christmas decorations outside!  So now it's time to relax in the evening with a nice bottle of wine, and tonight it's a bottle of 2010 Viticoltori in Valpantena Amarone della Valpolicella, and those who know me know what a big fan of Amarone I am!  This one is a classic blend of Corvina (60%), Corvinone (20%) and Rondinella (20%).

The wine is a deep ruby color in the glass with great clarity.  The nose is a classic Amarone, with wonderful cherry and ripe plum notes, with just a hint of floral essence with some rose petals.  The taste is classic Amarone, with a blast of ripe fruit, cherries, blackberries and prune that transitions flawlessly to some vanilla and a hint of white pepper spice midpalate.  The finish is lovely, with some earthy notes of dusty limestone and a hint of hazelnut as the well structured tannins form a foundation for a long, voluptuous finish that can only come from a nice Amarone.

Overall I would rate this wine a solid 8, as it's drinking quite well now, but it's still young and should improve with a few more years in the cellar, and it was a great value at less than $23 from Wines Till Sold Out.  This wine would be ideal with a variety of great Italian dishes, from Bistecca alla Fiorentina to a hearty pasta with a spicy red sauce.  Tonight I am pairing this wine with the classic American (almost Italian?) dish of stuffed peppers!  The sweetness of the wine is a perfect complement to the hearty beef and rice stuffed peppers topped with a bit of spicy marinara and some grated parmesan and asiago cheese.  So delicious!

2004 Bussola Ca' del Laito Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso

Well, it's the first Saturday in December, which of course means it's Cellar Saturday, that special day when I dig deep into the cellar and find a nice bottle a bit more mature just for the heck of it.  Tonight I go back a decade and open a bottle of 2004 Bussola Ca' del Laito Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso.  For those who have read any of my past posts on Amarone, know that the Valpolicella Ripasso is the second pressing of the grapes used to produce Amarone, which themselves are dried before pressing, creating a much more concentrated flavor that is just a joy to drink.  The only problem with Amarone is the price, hence the ripasso is a more value oriented offering which we are enjoying tonight!

The wine is a bright ruby color in the glass, with just the faintest hint of amber along the edges.  The nose is quite nice, with earthy notes of cedar, leather and fresh herbs over concentrated fruit notes of ripe plum and raisin.  The taste is sublime, with a burst of sweet cherry and anise at the outset, which transitions to some espresso and white pepper notes midpalate.  The tannins are well integrated and nicely structured, supporting a long, velvety dry finish.

Overall I would rate this wine a solid  8.5, it's drinking exceedingly well after it's first decade, and it was a great value at just $25, or about a third of the cost of a comparable Amarone.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a classic big dinner to go with the big wine, a rare grilled prime New York strip, a big baked potato with butter and sour cream and some steamed broccoli.  The fruit and spice in this wine just play remarkably well with a charred steak, tutti a tavola a mangiare!

2004 Valentina Cubi Morar Amarone della Valpolicella

Well, it's the first Saturday of November and that means it's officially "Cellar Saturday" that time when I open a bottle of wine that's been given some time to mature in the cellar.  Tonight's feature is one that I actually bought fairly recently, the 2004 Valentina Cubi Morar Amarone della Valpolicella, a 10-year-old Amarone that should just about be hitting it's prime about now!  And for those of you who are unfamiliar with Amarone, it's a classic northern Italian wine made from the Corvina and Rondinella grapes which are partially dried (for up to 120 days) before pressing.  The result is usually a much more concentrated and powerful red wine that is a personal favorite.

This wine is a deep ruby color in the glass with a bit of opacity.  The nose is classic Amarone, rich fruit notes of raspberry and raisin, over cascading aromas of leather, white pepper and just a hint of lavender.  The taste is quite subdued up front, with some mild flavors of blackberry and cherry intermingled with vanilla and pipe tobacco, that gives way to some spice notes of white pepper and Asian spice midpalate.  The tannins are very nicely integrated, supporting a long, flavorful and very dry finish.  A very classic Amarone.

Overall I would rate this wine a solid 8, as it is a fine example of the wine and a nice value, as I bought this one from Wines Till Sold Out for just $30.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a simple dinner of rare grilled New York Strip with grilled leeks, a baked potato and some steamed green beans.  This wine would also pair well with a lot of Northern Italian dishes, such as a nice wild mushroom risotto with a bit of Asiago shaved on top, wow I'm making myself hungry again!  Cincin!

2008 Villa Mattielli Amarone della Valpolicella

It's Friday I'm in love...for those of you who are children of the 1980s and 1990s, you'll instantly recognize those words as a title of a song by The Cure.  Well today is Friday, and I'm in love with Amarone!  It's been a long week with a lot of travel for work, so I figured tonight I should treat myself with a little something special from Italy, a nice Amarone della Valpolicella, a wine that is somewhat eclectic in its style, but certainly worthwhile in every way!

The wine is a nice ruby color in the glass, but somewhat lighter than many Amarones, this is likely due to its somewhat youthful presence.  The nose is quite pleasant, with aromas of sweet berries, ripe plums and licorice.  The taste is big and fruit forward with flavors of plum, raisin and ripe berries, transitioning to strawberries and grass midpalate, leading to a nicely structured and dry finish.  Although it's 15% alcohol by volume, I didn't notice a strong alcohol presence in the wine, though I note that the wine could use a few more years of cellaring before coming into its prime.

Overall I would rate this wine a 7.5 with room to improve over time, plus it was a good value from Wines Till Sold Out for less than $25.  Tonight I am pairing it with the classic Italian American favorite, pizza pie!  In this instance a lovely Home Run Inn frozen pizza, which is classic Chicago style thin crust pizza, with sausage and pepperoni (for those unfamiliar, you should really try one before you dismiss it out of had, it's my all time favorite frozen pizza)!  The sweet fruit of the wine plays nicely with the spice of the meat, and throw in a few pepperoncinis and you have a lovely meal for spending an evening relaxing from a hard week of work!  Salut!

2009 Famiglia Pasqua Passimento Veneto

So tonight I feel like having a little Italian, so why not open a bottle of our October wine club selection?  The 2009 Famiglia Pasqua Passimento Veneto, a wine from the far north of Italy, where the cuisine tends more toward rich risotto and polenta dishes.  Now, for those of you familiar with Amarone, this wine is very similar to the Valpolicella Ripasso, which is the second pressing of the dried Corvina grapes used to make Amarone.  The Pasqua family named this wine "Passimento" as they first dry the Corvina grapes before pressing them, creating a much more concentrated and rich flavor.  Then, unlike Amarone or Valpolicella Ripasso, they blend the first pressing of the dried Corvina grapes with Croatina, Merlot and several other local varieties of grapes from Verona that are not dried, resulting in a unique blend that has the richness of an Amarone, but is much more approachable for everyday drinking.

The color of this wine is a deep ruby in the glass, and the nose portrays a richness, with concentrated scents of blackberry and dried figs, leather and rose petals.  There's a sweetness in the nose that's somewhat deceiving, as this is by no means a sweet wine.  The taste starts with some strong fruit notes, ripe red berries and plums, transitioning to a gravelly taste reminiscent of some wonderful Bordeaux, along with dry herbs and just the faintest hint of mint.  The finish is somewhat tight, as the tannins are still developing, yet still providing for a smooth, dry finish.

As for pairings, this wine would pair well with a variety of rich, northern Italian dishes, and tonight I enjoyed it with some penne alla vodka, and the tightness of the tannins played against the richness of the cream in the sauce, while the rich fruit flavor of the wine balanced out the spice of the tomatoes in the sauce.  Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, as it's really a lovely everyday version of Amarone, maybe an Amarone light, but at a price that won't make you cringe.  I found this one at my local wine merchant for a tasting for only $14!  So if you have the opportunity, pick some up and enjoy it with a mushroom risotto!

2008 Palazzo Della Torre Veronese

So tonight being the 100th anniversary of the last dinner aboard the RMS Titanic, I thought it might be interesting to honor the tragedy with a dinner and bottle of wine that hearkens back to those days when technology and industry seemed to hold all the answers for mankind (where have I heard that before?).  So I thought about recreating the menu, but I have to admit I had neither the desire nor inclination toward creating a 12-course dinner for myself tonight, so that seems out, though you know whatever I have will be good. 

Then I searched the web trying to find a list of wines served on Titanic, and perhaps I might have a current vintage, or even a similar wine, like a Bordeaux or Burgundy, but alas there is very little detail on the wines served on board.  It seems they had more than their fair share of Champagne, but little else was detailed in the documents I surveyed.  So strike two for my last dinner evening, though I did learn an interesting tidbit, that apparently on ocean liners like Titanic, they seldom carried a great selection of aged red wines for fear that the rumbling of the massive reciprocating steam engines might somehow shake loose the sediment in old wine rendering them undrinkable.  Here's some information I could use, if I can't find a wine list, I can enjoy a rather young wine with my dinner.

So with my dinner I've chosen a bottle of 2008 Palazzo Della Torre Veronese.  For those familiar, this wine is a distant cousin to Amarone, and a closer cousin to the Valpolicella Ripasso, or the "second pressing" of the Amarone.  The main differences are the grapes used in making this wine, Corvina and Rondinella  which are often blended to make Bardolino and Valpolicella.  Unlike Amarone, this wine takes a slightly different approach, with the majority of grapes pressed at harvest to make wine with the remainder are dried or "raisined" during the period from harvest to January when they are pressed and the resulting wine blended with the wine pressed at harvest.  The result is a very similar wine to Amarone or Valpolicella Ripasso.

This particular wine is a deep red color in the glass.  The nose is quite fruity, with hints of dried cherries, plums, anise and oak.  The taste is somewhat concentrated, with initial flavors of red fruit and spice, followed by a real raisin sort of flavor mid palate.  The tannins are softer than I was expecting, creating a very smooth, dry finish.  Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8 with the chance to improve with a little time in the cellar (I'll also note this was #60 on the Wine Spectator list of the top 100 wines of 2011).  And what about my pairings?  Did I come even close to 12 courses?  Not really, but I did enjoy this wine with a very rich meal that would have been quite acceptable during the early 20th Century.  I had a nice grilled ribeye served with Béarnaise sauce along with some linguine tossed with a bit of garlic and olive oil and some steamed broccoli rabe.  And for dessert, what else but a cannoli!  Salute!

2009 Pasqua Valpolicella Ripasso

So I was down in Atlanta for a few days for a conference and I made many new friends and overall it was a lovely time.  But since I came a day early for a special session, I was on my own the first night, so not surprisingly with a Trader Joe's nearby I stopped on the way back from dinner and picked up a bottle of wine to enjoy in my room (the hotel's selections were pretty bland).  So I picked up a bottle of 2009 Pasqua Valpolicalla Ripasso to enjoy (what better complement for my earlier Amarone selection?)

First a note to Trader Joe's - I've been a huge fan of yours since the early days when I shopped at the store in Beaverton, Ore. not far from my house in 1999, and followed you to Issaquah, Washington, then Chicago, and now various locations in Detroit/Ann Arbor, so no one can accuse me of being a fair weather fan.  But on this instance at your store in Buckhead, I bought the aforementioned bottle of wine, which had a price tag on the shelf of only $8.99, but unfortunately when the cashier scanned it, it rang up at $9.99.  Now I'm more than happy to contribute an extra dollar to your efforts if you ask, but I get a little peeved when prices don't agree (after all, in Michigan, we have a law that would have required you to start handing me cash if that happened here).  But what gets me more peeved is when one of your associates tells me that the price on the register is right and the shelf tag is wrong, like I have mobile access to your pricing mainframe or have psychic powers that enable me to pick which items in your store I'm about to be overcharged for - here's a hint, I have neither of those, but as a customer when you put a price on the shelf, that's the price - PERIOD.  Don't try to give me a song and dance because you can't update your shelf tags in a timely manner.  I've never had this sort of experience at any of your stores, and I can only hope this was an isolated incident.  Now back to the wine.

The Valpolicella Ripasso, is made from the same grapes as Amarone, which are partially dried to make the wonderfully concentrated flavors of Amarone, but in the end there is usually something left over, so on the second pressing (ripasso!) they make another wine which is somewhat of a baby Amarone which usually is available for less than half the price of an Amarone.  I drank this one over a couple days, and I'll admit it was a bit young, so it probably wasn't as expressive as it could have been.  It was relatively light, with a bright magenta color and a nose of cherries, currants, herbs and a somewhat floral note.  The wine was very fruit forward, as could be expected for such a young wine, with taste of grape jam and a bit of lavender mid palate, and unfortunately the finish was pretty flat.

Overall I would rate this one a solid 7, it was good for what it was, and a nice value at $9, but I think there are a number of better examples out there for not a lot more cash.

2008 Conte di Bregonzo Amarone

So for tonight's dining pleasure I've cracked open a bottle of 2008 Conte di Bregonzo Amarone, and for those of you with any wine knowledge or a functioning understanding of how to use Google, this is the (in)famous Trader Joe's version of Amarone.  To say the least, when I did a cursory review on the web, this one is definitely a love it or hate it wine from Trader Joe's, but hey, I guess you can't win them all, even if you are the retailer that brought Two-Buck Chuck to the wine world.

Now I'll try not to let the negative comments sway me, after all some folks thought this wine would ruin the perception of Amarone to an entire generation of wine drinkers, which I consider a little hyperbole.  After all, this wine has been coming out of Valpolicella since the Romans were running things, so I seriously doubt offering a bottle at a great price could ruin what took millennia to build.  In fact, I'd put greater odds on the wine makers themselves shooting the golden goose before TJ's could (2004 Brunello scandal anyone?).

Back to the wine.  For those unfamiliar, Amarone is an interesting wine made from a blend of Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara grapes, but before the grapes are made into wine, they are partially dried for about four months in a process called appassimento.  This results in a much more concentrated wine in terms of sugars and flavors, and much higher in alcohol content (the required minimum is 14%, but it can easily surpass 15%).  After the partially dried grapes are pressed to make Amarone, the leftovers are used for a second pressing to make Valpolicella Ripasso (also a kick butt wine!). 

So on to tonight's wine, which is also our office wine club selection for February (Happy Valentines Day wine club peeps!). Now it's generally good to let a bottle breathe a bit before serving, so this one's been open about 30 minutes or so.  In the glass, the wine has aromas of cedar, spice, and a sweet cherry or berry and a faint hint of anise.  The taste is concentrated fruit at the outset, with a touch of bitterness mid-palate, and somewhat concentrated tannins creating a smooth, dry finish.  Some have complained that this wine is one dimensional, and I could see that being the case, but I think they miss the beauty of what this wine is, a representation of a larger than life wine, with concentrated fruit that is to Italy what a big bold Cabernet is to Napa Valley.

Now considering that most Amarone's are tough to find in the sub$50 range, and that this one came from Trader Joe's at just under $20 makes this a considerable bargain.  If you're an Amarone expert, this one might not be for you, but if you enjoy a good glass of wine with a meal, this is your ticket!  Oh, and speaking of meals, what am I enjoying this bottle with tonight?  Glad you asked, I am having this with St. Louis style barbecue pork steaks, with my own variations (like adding a little habanero pineapple salsa to the barbecue sauce that the meat has been braising in for the last 3 hours), along with some homemade corn bread, and green beans with butter and slivered almonds, a real southern treat!  The bold spice of this wine should play nicely with the sweetness of the pork and sauce, I can't wait to dig in!  For the wine itself, I'd rate this one a solid 8, but given the bargain price, I'd boost that up to an 8.5 easily!  Enjoy!

2006 Sanguineti Caruso

Ok, in celebration of our Independence Day, let's start off with some fireworks!  My wine today was our July office wine club selection and comes to us from our friends at Madwine.com, the 2006 Sanguineti Caruso.  Now we've seen the emergence over the last few years of the "Super Tuscans" those wines that come from the Tuscany region, but do not fit squarely in the DOC(G) classification system.  Well our wine today is being billed as a "Super Italian" as it takes an unorthodox approach of blending wine from grapes grown throughout Italy, and as the label touts, from the Nord, Centrale and Sud.

From an aesthetic standpoint, this wine blends some of the best grapes from the Valpolicella region (think Amarone), Tuscany (think Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino) and Sicily (Nero d'Avola).  From a technical standpoint, this is a blend of 14% Corvina (from the Veneto region in Northeast Italy), 6% Rondinella (also from Veneto and used in Valpolicella and Bardolino), 50% Sangiovese (from Tuscany in Central Italy, the main grape in Chianti and Brunello), 10% Syrah and 20% Nero d'Avola (from Sicily).

The wine itself has a remarkable nose, with hints of leather, tobacco and spice, but a very strong sense of the fruit, exhibited by plum and cassis.  The taste is fairly dry, but with a fruity spice that really explodes on the palate (hence the fireworks!), with fairly robust tannins leading to a long, but clean finish.  Quite honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect from a "Super Italian" after all could combining the great wines from each region even equal the sum of the parts?  Well I was very surprised, as this wine was very pleasant from the first sip to the last, a real taste of a nation with more than 2 millenia of experience making wine.  Overall I would rate this one a solid 8.5, expecially at the $13 price tag we were able to get it for!  So this weekend grab some Italian sausage and some fresh eggplant, zuccini, peppers, and other veggies and grill them out and enjoy them with this wine! "Tutti a tavola a mangiare!"

2006 Sant' Antonio Monti Garbi Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso

Ok, so I grew up in basically an alcohol free Dutch home, but my mother's side of the family had both the Dutch influence, but also had my grandfather, Paul Luchene, the wildcard!  Now my grandpa wasn't a rebel, but he brought to me the French and Italian blood that I think influences my tastes to this day!  Hence my personal valentine to myself, the 2006 Sant' Antonio Monti Garbi Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso!  For my dinner on this romantic day, I have some wonderful hot Italian sausage, grilled with onions and peppers, along with some rustic Italian bread and some linguine with garlic and olive oil, oh so delicious!  And to top it off some wonderful Italian wine! 

Now the Valpolicella comes from the area of Verona in Italy which should be familiar to you romantics (remember a story of Romeo and Juliet?).  At any rate, this wine is actually a leftover wine from the beautiful Amarone (see any words here that remind you of love?  Amore?  Anyone?  Bueller?).  Amarone is a rich Italian red wine made from the partially dried grapes of several varieties of grapes, and is such a lovely red wine but oh so costly!  So the Valpolicella Ripasso, comes from the ripasso (think replay) or second pressing of the Amarone, so it ends up as my second love!  A wonderful wine that is the less expensive Amarone!

The 2006 Sant' Antonio Monti Garbi Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso is such a wonderful wine, and the perfect expression of Valentines Day!  The wine has a wonderful array of aromas, from leather and a sunny day in the forest, to berries, the scents just send a message to your brain, "Gentlemen, start your engines!"  The first sip is just a magical and lucious mouthful, tastes of berries, deep rich grapes that can only come from the pressing of grapes well on their way to becoming raisins.  A deep red color, velvety tannins, and a taste that just screams AMORE!  Whether you are married, dating or even like me, this is the perfect wine to celebrate the love of the season!  

I am enjoying this wine with spicy Italian sausage, some rustic bread with butter (for added romance, try some truffle butter, ooohhh la la!) and a little al dente linguine with garlic and olive oil.  A perfect romance with flavor, texture and aromas such that cupid couldn't miss!  Happy Valentine's Day!