Amarone Classico Quintarelli 1997

Quintarelli Amarone Classico 1997 is a full-bodied red wine produced in the appassimento style from partially air-dried grapes in the Amarone DOCG of Valpolicella in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Giuseppe (Bepe) Quintarelli was one of the true icons of Italian wine until his death in 2012, celebrated for his hedonistic and long-lived Valpolicellas, reciotos and Amarones. Bepe worked with uncompromising attention to detail and patience at a time when the rest of Italy was embracing the efficiencies occasioned by the industrialisation of wine. Only made in exceptional years, Quintarelli Amarones are matured for a minimum of seven years in Slavonian oak and are among the most sought-after wines in Italy. The estate is now run by Bepe`s daughter, Fiorenza, and her husband, Giampaolo Grigoli. "Quintarelli’s 1997 Amarone is seductive from the first aromas that float from the glass. It offers a myriad of dried cherries, plums, tea leaves, earthiness, spices, smoke and herbs in a deceptively medium-bodied style bursting with flavour. Constantly changing in the glass, this is a sensual wine of contrasts; it is sweet yet dry, rustic yet incredibly elegant, all at the same time." Wine Advocate, 2007