Cav. G.B. Bertani Bertani Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2015 750ml

A vivid ruby color with a garnet tinge and super-restrained nose of licorice, oak bark, smoke, wood, cigar box, leather, dark chocolate, crushed violets and prunes. Freshness and subtlety. Full-bodied and elegant on the palate due to ripe, filigree tannins with long acidity and a toasty, savory aftertaste. One of the great Amarones. Corvina and Rondinella. Ready to drink now, but intended for the long haul.

A vivid ruby color with a garnet tinge and super-restrained nose of licorice, oak bark, smoke, wood, cigar box, leather, dark chocolate, crushed violets and prunes. Freshness and subtlety. Full-bodied and elegant on the palate due to ripe, filigree tannins with long acidity and a toasty, savory aftertaste. One of the great Amarones. Corvina and Rondinella. Ready to drink now, but intended for the long haul. The palate is full-bodied and balanced, with bright acidity that highlights flavors of red berries, licorice, and subtle smoky notes.

Wow. Such a complex nose, with a base of dried cherry, spruced up with hints of mild coffee and walnuts. Then there are dried flowers, wild herbs and spices, such as tarragon and cloves. Subtle hints of dried banana and apricot, too. The palate is full, super sleek, intense and well-balanced, with tight, spice-coated tannins that drive everything forward. Long, long finish. Lovely to taste now, but this already almost ten-year-old will sit comfortably in your cellar for a long while yet.

Density and dryness that really comes together here, after almost 10 years in bottle. It’s very deep and vertical on the palate. Very pure and beautiful crushed cherries, dried flowers, carbon and pumice. Wonderful all round. Drink or hold.

This wine is pure in its fruit, earnestness and joy. It opens with aromas of vibrant red plum, macerated red cherries and raspberries followed by cocoa powder, oolong tea and dried violets. Each sniff of the glass brings a new aroma. The wine is earth-driven on the palate, with tobacco and dried red and black fruits blending well with mixed herbs, savory spices and elegant tannins, all leading to a fresh acidity that makes the wine pop on the finish. Drink now–2040.

This is the first vintage made under the current winemaking team. When I look back to 2012, I remember thickly concentrated, fruit-forward wines that were made after a very hot summer that saw dry winds blow north from Africa over much of Italy. Generally speaking, the wines embraced monolithic elements with lots of black fruit at the base. However, the Bertani 2012 Amarone della Valpolicella offers surprising complexity and depth with neatly compact fruit flavors. It shows a pretty garnet appearance with dried cherry aromas, cedar and light smoke, and you definitely taste minerality and crushed stone.

This elegant red shows lovely length and integration and feels fresh and focused despite its 10 years of aging on release. Mineral-driven, with an underpinning of iron and loamy earth to the mix of dried cherry and red currant fruit, bitter herb, cocoa powder, and singed orange peel notes. Fine, taut tannins firm the well-spiced finish. Corvina and Rondinella. Best from 2027 through 2040. 5,000 cases made, 1,350 cases imported.

A poised red, expanding slowly on the palate, with fine, creamy tannins enmeshed with a range of black cherry coulis, black plum reduction, iron, dark chocolate and tobacco notes. Fresh and focused, with a lasting, spiced finish. Drink now through 2031. 8,000 cases made, 1,500 cases imported.

A poised red, expanding slowly on the palate, with fine, creamy tannins enmeshed with a range of black cherry coulis, black plum reduction, iron, dark chocolate and tobacco notes. Fresh and focused, with a lasting, spiced finish. Drink now through 2031.