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Giuseppe Quintarelli's wines have always left me speechless. His rocket-ship Amarones and perception-altering Valpolicellas were among the wines we carried when we first opened IWM in 1999--we'll be celebrating our twelve-year anniversary next week--and they are wines that continue to blow me away every time I drink one.

 

I'm not alone. Today on our blog, Inside IWM, Jordan Birch, one of our Portfolio Managers, wrote a very personal post about his experiences with Quintarelli. I'm not surprised at his reactions. I know how often I have sung the praises of Quintarelli, and I know how much they astonish me, but it's great to see that these wines inspire reverence in others. Let's let Jordan speak for himself:

 

The line-up, the roster, the batting order, the menu and the wines: as Portfolio Managers at IWM, we spend a lot of time thinking about these things, and tailoring each particular evening to a single client's tastes and preferences is not always easy.  And yet, choosing my closing wine always is.

 

The Maestro of the Veneto, Giuseppe Quintarelli gets unqualified respect and unfettered admiration from his patrons, compatriots, colleagues and competitors alike.  For me, every sip of a Quintarelli wine elevates my perception of what is possible.  His wines give deep, magical experiences unlike anything else on earth.

 

There is more than a little bit of genius in the man, and the most compelling argument to support this man's almost godlike status in the wine world is what he manages to produce in "off vintages."  The 2002 vintage has been raising some questions among the critics and reviewers in the industry. Giuseppe's '02 wines are nothing short of spectacular. The 2002 Rosso del Bepi belongs in a category alongside the 2002 Soldera, 2002 Monfortino, and 2002 Miani Merlot.  When most producers really struggled in this vintage, these four wines represent some of the finest achievements in the long history of epic wines. Quintarelli's more reasonably priced single-vineyard Valpolicella, the Rosso Ca' del Merlo, is likewise a monumental tribute.

 

When I study and select wines for each course of a client's tasting, toggling between various sparklers and whites, easy-drinking Chiantis and Rosso di Montalcinos for the antipasti; unusual tastes like Sagrantino from Umbria, Sardinian Carignano, Campanian Aglianico for the pastas; and progressing slowly toward full-blown Brunellos, Barolos, and Super Tuscans with the meat; but there is never any question of who I turn to in the clutch as a closer. Quintarelli is the Mariano Rivera of wines.

 

At the end of a meal when the mood is light and your belly is close to full and you are dazzled by the depth and complexity of so many different bottles of beauty - that is the moment I turn to the Maestro and present Quintarelli. Whether his Valpolicella Superiore, the Rosso Ca del Merlo, the Rosso del Bepi, the Amarone della Valpolicella, the Selezione, the Alzero Cabernet, or his Recioto - every sip provides a taste of mastery so rarely achieved in a lifetime.

 

We speak his name with reverence, softly, "the Maestro, Giuseppe Quintarelli," and he will change your world.

 

This week, I'm delighted to offer a range of wines from The Master of the Veneto-including his 2002 Rosso del Bepi and Valpolicella. These are wines of meditation, wines that'll invite you to drink them as you sit and ponder the solutions to the world's problems, wines that'll raise any dinner to a peak experience, and wines that will make you see the world a little bit differently. These are wines of reflection, optimism, and awe. Open a bottle and find yourself speechless.

 

 

My Best,

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P.S. You can now follow me on Twitter: @Italian_Wine_SE.  
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Giuseppe Quintarelli Amarone della Valpolicella 2000
Giuseppe Quintarelli Amarone della Valpolicella 2000 3L
Price: $1,500.00

Quintarelli produces his Amarone only in exceptional vintages, and when he does it is the benchmark for all Amarone. This collector's wine is primarily the indigenous Corvina blended with Rondinella and traces of Cabernet Sauvignon, Nebbiolo, Croatina, and Sangiovese. Replete with so many layers and flavors, Quintarelli’s Amarone demands to be contemplated rather than merely consumed. Always rich, opulent, sensuous and extraordinary, every vintage of this wine is a thing of beauty. Crushed flowers, ripe fruit, ethereal aromas, seductive spices and unbelievable balance—the magical Quintarelli’s Amarones hold you in their thrall.
Giuseppe Quintarelli Amarone Selezione 2000
Giuseppe Quintarelli Amarone Selezione 2000 750ml
Price: $725.00

Quintarelli Ca del Merlo 2000
Quintarelli Ca' del Merlo 2000
Price: $85.95

This wine is one dark beauty, which given its name makes a certain sense. The Ca’ del Merlo, meaning “house of the blackbird,” is a single-vineyard Valpolicella. Thus, it embodies the influences of a specific terroir, yet it also expresses the vinification method of ripasso that is the hallmark of Quintarelli. This densely structured Valpolicella is one of a kind with rich, dark fruit, generous oak on the palate and chewy yet velvety tannins.
Giuseppe Quintarelli Amarone Selezione 2000 1500ml
Giuseppe Quintarelli Amarone Selezione 2000 1500ml
Price: $1,599.00

Quintarelli's Amarones make writers cranky: there's no way to do the wines justice. Quintarelli, ever idiosyncratic about his wines' release times, has only just now chosen to send out his 2000 Amarone Riserva, a vintage so extraordinary that he's naming it a Selezione. Suffice to say that if Quintarelli thinks it's a wine special enough to warrant a distinguished name, it's an astounding wine, and the 2000 Selezione is. Delicate and balanced, this Amarone gathers power and intensity in the glass, revealing an ethereal combination of flowers, berries, and spices. It's amazing, indescribable, and it makes writers want to bang their heads against their keyboards.
Giuseppe Quintarelli Recioto della Valpolicella 1995 375ml
Giuseppe Quintarelli Recioto della Valpolicella 1995 375ml
Price: $255.00

As you’d expect any dessert wine from Quintarelli to do, this one confounds the senses and exceeds expectations. It’s simply sublime. This ’95 takes its port-like feel and puts a Quintarelli kaleidoscope spin on the whole endeavor. Dark chocolate cherry cordial, Christmas fruit cake, a soupcon of espresso, floating rose petals, and hints of apricot dance in dizzying progression across the palate of this wine. It’s intense, incredible, delicious and drinking to the end of the decade.
Quintarelli Ca del Merlo 1999
Quintarelli Ca' del Merlo 1999 750ml
Price: $86.81

With a body like Sophia Loren swathed in silk, this ’99 Ca’ del Merlo offers a sultry, smooth, sensual side of this single-vineyard Valpolicella. Cherry cordial, black currants, Indian spices, cigar wrapper and brown sugar sit on a thrumming foundation of umami, white truffle and earth. It’s both worldly and ethereal at once, much as is Italy’s greatest living actress herself. Drinking for to the end of the decade, likely longer.
Giuseppe Quintarelli Recioto della Valpolicella Riserva 1990 750ml
Giuseppe Quintarelli Recioto della Valpolicella Riserva 1990 750ml
Price: $750.00

Recioto is Valpolicella’s initial incarnation—a sweet wine that dates back to the Romans, who are credited with having developed the appassimento process (drying of the grapes). The sweetness derives from an arrested fermentation, a procedure that stops the conversion of sugar into alcohol, thereby leaving residual sugar. It is widely believed that Amarone emerged as the dry counterpart to Recioto when an unattended barrel of the latter fermented fully. For Giuseppe, like his father, the challenge of crafting Recioto represents a labor of love. Following the arrested fermentation, this wine’s vinification regimen follows the same protocol utilized for the Amarone.
Giuseppe Quintarelli Bianco Secco 2010
Giuseppe Quintarelli Bianco Secco 2010 750ml
Price: $44.69

Stunning and blonde, Quintarelli’s value-conscious white, Bianco Secco, is a seductive blend of Garganega, Trebbiano Toscano, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Saorin. This pretty wine carries a bouquet of flowers, a sassy palate, and finishes with a touch of minerals and honey. Charming doesn’t even begin to describe it.
Quintarelli Rosso Ca del Merlo 2002
Quintarelli Rosso Ca' del Merlo 2002 750ml
Price: $84.50

Quintarelli opted against making his Amarone in 2002, choosing to declassify it and bottle his Rosso del Bepi instead. He did, however, make his single-vineyard Ca’del Merlo Valpolicella, and that makes it all the more special. At turns sweet, at turns savory, this ’02 is a subtle rollercoaster of a wine, one that moves you from brambly fruit to cherry cordial to earthy dark notes to spice in one sinuous, graceful move. A wine to be savored, and cellared, this ’02 is drinking into the next decade, very likely longer.
Giuseppe Quintarelli Amarone della Valpolicella Riserva 1995
Giuseppe Quintarelli Amarone della Valpolicella Riserva 1995 1500ml
Price: $1,650.00

Quintarelli produces his Amarone only in exceptional vintages, and when he does it is the benchmark for all Amarone. This collector's wine is primarily the indigenous Corvina blended with Rondinella and traces of Cabernet Sauvignon, Nebbiolo, Croatina, and Sangiovese. Replete with so many layers and flavors, Quintarelli’s Amarone demands to be contemplated rather than merely consumed. Always rich, opulent, sensuous and extraordinary, every vintage of this wine is a thing of beauty. Crushed flowers, ripe fruit, ethereal aromas, seductive spices and unbelievable balance—the magical Quintarelli’s Amarones hold you in their thrall.
   
 
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