Anteprima Amarone 2012

Posted on 29 January 2012

So after yesterday’s relaxed chillout in Verona, the hard work started today. No fewer than 67 Amarones – I certainly am not complaining but we are talking about the world’s most powerful dry red wines – to taste within a few hours. As per the tradition of these anteprima presentations it all started with speeches and lectures. These can get pretty boring but today’s was very insightful. Œnologist Daniele Accordini introduced the 2008 vintage with graphs and statistics. In theory it was a cooler, more elegant year than 2007, but versus the long-time average it’s still a pretty powerful vintage with high alcohol and lowish acids. Regarding the former, the average content of 2008 Amarone is above 15% and the record holder reached no less than 18.27%. There are also residual sugars as high as 12g, more than in a semi-dry Riesling. This is completely crazy, and a major challenge for anyone approaching Amarone for the first time. I’ll address these issues in a separate post soon.

The tasting – which I chose to do strictly blind – was actually better than expected. There were some excessive wines, but not so many, and the majority were good. On the other hand, there were very few truly outstanding wines, as befits a less-than-perfect vintage and a tasting where most renowned producers chose not to participate (again, I’ll discuss this soon in a separate entry).

The charm of these blind tastings, as I already wrote here, is that apart from the usual suspects, there are a few new names coming up. I Scriani and Secondo Marco are two newcomers that made some of my favourite Amarones today. One major confirmation came from Roccolo Grassi, a rich, modern, sensual wine with great quality of fruit and good balance. But the biggest shocker is the great performance of Pasqua. This major négociant house has for years been synonymous with the dullest supermarket plonk. Something might be changing, as both the high-end Cecilia Beretta label and the Pasqua-branded Villa Borghetti performed eminently well in my tastings. Blind tasting never lies.

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My live correspondence from Verona continues tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Disclosure

My trip to Verona including flights, 4* accommodation and wine tasting programme is sponsored by the Consorzio Vini Valpolicella.