Amarone della Valpolicella DOC Classico “Costasera” 1997

Amarone della Valpolicella DOC Classico “Costasera” 1997

The Costasera is made from a blend of Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara grapes grown in the Valpolicella Classica zone west of Verona in the Veneto region. Grapes are dried on bamboo racks for several months using the appassimento method, concentrating sugars, aromas and structure before fermentation. The wine is aged in large Slavonian oak casks, giving it depth and complexity without heavy wood character. The 2000 vintage presents an opaque ruby red colour with bright edges, reflecting the density typical of this style. At over two decades of age, primary dried fruit aromas have integrated with tertiary notes of coffee, tobacco and spice. The wine is dry and full-bodied, with the firm but softened tannin structure and the natural high alcohol expected of a mature Amarone Classico.

Masi takes its name from the Vaio dei Masi, the small valley in the Valpolicella Classica bought by the Boscaini family at the end of the eighteenth century, and it is still family run after seven generations. The house built its name on appassimento, the winter drying of grapes for Amarone and Recioto, which its technical group has studied and refined for decades, and on the recovery of old Veronese varieties such as Oseleta. Alongside the widely exported Costasera it bottles two historic cru Amarones, Campolongo di Torbe and Mazzano, and tends the vineyards of the Serego Alighieri estate, home of the descendants of the poet Dante.