Amarone is made from dried grapes from the Corvina, Rondinella, and Molinare varietals, and this bottling was left to macerate on the skins for a full 60 days. This creates a very big, heavy, almost sweet wine made from copious amounts of sugar in the pressed juice. It is almost port-like at 16% alcohol, with a very aromatic nose of prunes, almonds, cherry liqueur, chocolate covered cherries, and mocha. If that isn’t hedonistic, I don’t know what is! But it’s still pretty complex and full of “terroir”, unlike some massive California wines. This was thick and voluptuous with licorice and cherry in the mouth. It was very well-balanced despite the high alcohol, and would make a great after dinner/after dessert wine, or simply have it with chocolate, like we did!

My score: 91-92
Robert Parker: 93 $55