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What We Say 2005 Amarone della Valpolicella DOC
SUPERIOR WINE ALERT:
Today’s selection is a delicious example of one of they most unique wines of Italy, which also happens to be Agent White’s most favorite styles. If you haven’t had a chance to explore the great wine that is Amarone, today’s selection is a perfect introduction.
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Mission Codename: The Lord of Amarone
Operative: Agent White
Objective: Secure an exceptional food friendly Amarone for our operative’s who love great Italian wines.
Mission Status: Accomplished!
Current Winery: Corte de Signori
Wine Subject: Amarone della Valpolicella D.O.C.
Backgrounder:
Amarone della Valpolicella is one of the most unique wines in all of Italy. Made in Italy’s northeast Veneto region and specifically in the Valpolicella DOC (near Verona), Amarone is made with grapes that are dried for several months on straw mats in the lofts above the farm houses or barns at the winery before being pressed and fermented. The dried fruit has a higher residual sugar which is mostly fermented away. This results in a dry wine of tremendous depth and intensity; in addition to a generally higher alcohol content.
Amarone is usually a blend of Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara. On occasion, other varietals are blended into the mix. Amarone is aged for two years in oak barriques before being aged further in the bottle. These wines have a long life, with most Amarone showing its best character many years after their release. Flavors and aromas of complex dried fruit, chocolate and spice linger and meld with its distinct texture.
Wine Spies Tasting Profile:
Look – Beautiful deep ruby red with garnet and violet streaks through its clear but dense core. Deep ruby along the edges and when swirled clusters of medium-thick color stained legs sink to the wine below.
Smell – Bold and rich with complex aromas of ripe red and black cherry, blackberry, dried fruit and a touch of spiced dried plum. As you spend time with this immensely complex wine layers of sweet tobacco, soft oak, sweet chocolate along with fragrant spice and hints of licorice emerge.
Feel – This powerful full-bodied wine is smooth, dry and warm on the palate with an vibrant expansive and sublime texture that lasts long into the finish. Finely grained and sturdy tannins and lively acidity links it all together as the textured minerality lingers on the palate.
Taste – Bright but also restrained flavors of dark red and black cherry, dried figs and raisons along with blackberry and spiced plum mingle with sweet chocolate and the fragrant spices found on the nose. Notes of sweet cigar tobacco, toasted oak, hints of hot spice, and a roast nut component also make an appearance.
Finish – This wines texture lingers on the palate for several minutes as the red and black cherry fruit fades softly leaving behind soft notes of spice, toasted oak and this wines other complex flavors, drying the tongue and begging for another sublime sip.
Conclusion – The 2005 Corte de Signori Amarone della Valpolicella D.O.C. is a fantastic wine. Great complexity and a smooth and warm feel that lasts and lasts (until you’ve polished off the entire bottle) so take your time with this beauty (let breathe for at least one hour or decant) and you’ll be handsomely rewarded. We suggest pairing this amazingly food-friendly Amarone with rich game meats, ripe cheese or charcuterie.
Wine Spies Vineyard Check:
The approximate location of the Corte de Signori can be seen in this satellite photo.
What the Winery Says
Corte de Signori
About This Wine:
Colour: Deeply red, tending to garnet upon ageing
Nose: Very complex, balanced between ripe fruit and spice
Taste: very full-bodied wine, spicy and well-balanced between softness, austerity and richness
The vineyards, cultivated with maximum respect to the environment, favor the use of natural products. On the logo, Palazzo Scaligero in Piazza dei Signori , a symbol of Verona, reflects the luxury image of these high quality wines.
About The Winery:
Born as a winery in the ‘50ies, our big force is for sure the experience that the family passed on for generations, but overall the fact that we have a complete control on the whole producing process from the vine to the bottle, in fact the grapes only come from the winery’s own property. Our vineyards, cultivated with maximum respect to the environment, favor the use of natural products, using forms of alternative prevention such as pheromone traps. In addition, we use products with low environmental impact. In addition to low environmental impact products, cultivation techniques are employed that encourage the development of useful insect life that take advantage of natural competition plant protection, so that over the years insecticides have been greatly reduced. All investments are done to acquire more land in only the best locations, to build spaces for the drying procedures for producing Amarone, to create space for barrel-aging and in order to always guarantee the highest quality level.
Technical Analysis:
Varietals: 70% Corvina 25% Rondinella 5% Molinara
Vinification: Drying on small trays for 3 months. Crushed in January. Slow fermentation.
Alcohol: 15%
Aging: 30 months in Large Slavonian oak barrels. Six months in the bottle.
