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2007 saw one of the greatest recent vintages in the Veneto, and Quintarelli’s Amarone Riserva reflects its year in its breathtaking transparency, myriad notes, exquisite texture, and sheer beauty. Brooding berries and sweet cherries mingle with warm chocolate, Christmas cake, fresh loam, cigar wrapper, licorice and potpourri in this mesmerizing wine. A balanced masterpiece, Quintarelli’s ’07 Amarone Riserva matches its intense dry extract with its lively acidity, its velvety tannins with a sweet inner lift, and its explosive fruits with a savory minerality--this wine’s seamlessness, harmony, and complexity are stunning. While you could enjoy this Amarone Riserva upon release with liberal decanting, its heyday won’t come for at least five years, when it’ll drink for many decades to come. A proprietary blend of indigenous Corvina along with Rondinella, Molinara, Negrara and traces of Cabernet, Sangiovese, and Nebbiolo, this Amarone Riserva is made in the painstaking appassimento method where the grapes are partially dried for three or four months before pressing and fermenting for about 45 days; the wine ages for at least seven years in cask before bottling. Released on its own mystical schedule, this Amarone Riserva is a fitting tribute to Giuseppe Quintarelli, one of the world’s greatest winemakers ever to have lived.

• Country: Italy
• Region: Veneto
• Subregion: Amarone della Valpolicella

Known as "the Master of the Veneto," Quintarelli makes some of the world’s most sought-after wines, and their releases always create commensurate fervor. Quintarelli’s limited production Amarones, Reciotos, and Valpolicellas are the benchmark for excellence. Their greatness stems from the inherent quality of the terroir and the natural talent of this master, whose concept of vintage standards and strict grape selection rivals the great Chateau of Sauternes. Quintarelli puts his wines on the market when he deems them ready, sometimes cellaring them for decades until the right moment arrives. True thinking wines that slow the pace and teach the drinker to be silent, Quintarelli’s wines are unlike any other in the world.