Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG Classico “Vigneto Monte Sant’Urbano” by Speri
Speri’s hallmark wine from a practically perfect vintage, this is a wonderful wine, in which everything – quality of fruit, quality of winemaking and quality of year – has come together magically, and with careful bottle-ageing it’s only growing in stature.
Winemaking: from the pergola-trained Monte Sant’Urbano site. The grapes are dried on the traditional bamboo arele for 4 months to nearly half the original juice quantity, before 2 years spent in French oak tonneaux and 18 months in Slavonian botti. Before release, it spends another year in bottle.
Assemblage: corvina and corvinone 70%, rondinella 25%, molinara 5%.
Soil: igneous, calcareous.
Alcohol: 15%.
Colour: brick red, translucent with hints of violacea.
Aroma: extremely classic, and after nearly 20 years now extremely deep with tertiary aromas. Up front, restrained red fruit backed by earthy and balsamic notes, but delving deeper will reveal light cigar smoke, truffle, the darkest of chocolate and something like rose petals.
Palate: the power and tannins are now fully integrated, with a hint of spice and heat but largely extremely smooth and velvety on the palate. Nonetheless it is terrifically structured, carrying flavour and aromas all the way through to its extraordinarily long finish.
Ageability: at or approaching its peak, depending on who you ask, but it could no doubt keep going for a good long while yet.
Pairing: to drink by itself, by yourself, in an old oak cabin in the mountains with a book of philosophy.
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