2013 Amarone Della Valpolicella - Sartori Di Verona 

Chocolate cherry liqueur, potpourri, red candy apple. Grenadine, crushed dried violet, macerated red plum. Maca powder and cinnamon, leather and damp earth. Decadent, succulent, and flavorfully dense, but not heavy or high alcohol. Like a giant oozing strawberry jelly donut minus the guilt and regret. This 2013 Amarone Della Valpolicella by Sartori Di Verona is delicious concentration and saturation done the old-school way.

Amarone Della Valpolicella wine is made by a very unique process in Verona of the Veneto region in North-Western Italy. Using primarily the Corvina grape, producers harvest specifically selected clusters at complete ripeness. The clusters are then laid out on straw mats in well ventilated areas for up to 4 months so that they can dry out. After the clusters are adequately dry they are pressed and allowed to proceed in a long slow fermentation. Due to the drying out process, called appassimento in Italian, sugars & flavors are able to concentrate in the grapes while water evaporates. This creates a sensation of intense fruit extraction in the finished wines without making them heavy or overbearing. This wine, crafted by the well known producer Sartori Di Verona, is full bodied yet light on its feet with balanced acidity and subtle silky tannin. If you're a lover of big new-world reds but want to broaden your tastes you absolutely must experience Amarone.