There was a time when Italian wines were the “in” wines with Chianti being the prime ambassador from that country.
There was not a teen's room, college dorm or even an adult household that did not have the ubiquitous, candle wax-encrusted, straw basket-wrapped Chianti fiasco (bottle) as a prominent piece of the room’s decoration.
With the rise of the California wine industry and a change in American preferences, these wines fell out of favor along with their memorable straw-covered flasks.
While Chianti has almost completely faded from the American scene, the style continued to evolve in Italy until it became the wine now referred to as "super Tuscans."
Along with this style, there came an almost total renascence of all Italian wines. Modern winemaking and agricultural techniques greatly assisted and nurtured this resurgence. Today, there are many magnificent wines coming out of every region of Italy. Among their prized wines are Valpolicella and its super incarnation, amarone.
Masi 2010 Campofiorin Rosso del Veronese ($18) Masi is one of the oldest wineries still in existence in Italy, having been founded in 1772. That fact alone should indicate Masi has extensive experience in the making of fine wines.
This wine, which can be considered to be a classical Valpolicella, is made from local grapes: the covina, rondinella and molinara from the area around the city of Verona, of Romeo and Juliet fame.
A portion of the wine is re-fermented using dried grapes of the same varieties, which is an ancient Italian winemaking technique adopted by Masi for the Campofiorin Rosso del Veronese. This treatment adds depth, color and character to the finished wine. What results from all this hard work is a ruby red wine, heavy with aromas of blackberries and cherries. These fruit aromas carry over to the flavor where they mix with soft, smooth oak and a hint of fresh spice. The finish is deep, complex and fruity. This is a delightful and very affordable fine wine we consider to be exceptional.
Masi 2009 Costasera della Amarone Valpolicella Classico ($57)Amarone made its first appearance in bottles in 1959.
Prior to that time, the grapes and winemaking techniques were reserved for the production of a very fine sweet red wine called Recioto della Valpolicella. As the name implies, that wine was a sweet version of the popular Valpolicella. What separated this wine from the ordinary Valpolicella was the method of production. Only the ripest of grapes from the top of the vine were hand-picked and set out to dry on straw mats. This form of drying concentrates the natural grape juices and results in a very sweet and full-bodied wine.
In 1951, one barrel of wine made from these dried grapes was fermented to total dryness. The resultant wine so impressed the winemaker that he allowed it to continue aging. As a name for this new wine, he chose amarone, which translates as “big dry.” The new wine was allowed to remain in the barrel for several seasons. During this time, natural fermentation restarted each spring, further concentrating the wine flavors. At the end of that time, the wine was examined and evaluated.
What the winemakers found was a powerful, full-flavored wine of amazing depth and complexity. It had the satiny impression of sweetness, derived from the glycerin, which developed during the long years in the barrel. There was also a jammy, raspberry flavor mingled with the unmistakable flavor and aroma of almonds.
Amarone is best described as being port-like in its body and character but very dry and Italian in its nature. This wine has a remarkabe longevity and can be aged in the bottle for about 30 years and, if recorked at the end of that time, even longer.
In Italy, no formal meal ends without cheese and amarone - it has become a modern tradition.
Nixa resident Bennet Bodenstein is a wine columnist and manages ArticlesOnWine.com. He can be reached at frojhe1@att.net.[[In-content Ad]]
