Make sure to try this wine
Tommasi, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, 2016
4,0 NJP of 5,0 NJP
Tommasi, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, 2016 (30 EUR/36 USD in Sweden) red dry blend wine, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, Veneto, Italy, 4,0 of 5,0 NJP (90 points of 100 points) (04-02-2021 by Nenad Jelisic)
After many tasted Amarone-wines in the price range 160 SEK to 500 SEK during the last twelve months, here finally comes one that gets more than 3,0 NJP out of 5,0 NJP (more than 80 NJP out of 100 NJP). All the other tasted Amarone-wines in this price range got 0,0 NJP to 1,5 NJP. In addition, their quality varied from bottle to bottle (from one and the same vintage) far too often. Unfortunately, the quality varies from bottle to bottle for this wine as well, some bottles got 4,0 NJP while the others got 3,5 NJP, 3,0 NJP or 2,0 NJP. Here, I describe the bottle that got 4,0 NJP. What characterizes this wine that got 4,0 NJP compared to the wines that got less than 4,0 NJP is a better aroma, a better fruitiness, a higher concentration, a higher sweetness, a better balance and a better tannin structure. I really hope that the bottle you open will belong to 4,0 NJP-bottles. Enough about that.
The wine has a big, complex and sweet spicy aroma and a sweet spicy, concentrated and complex flavour. The aroma is filled with sweet spices such as cinnamon, vanilla and cardamom, freshly ground coffee, raisins, milk chocolate, dates and white pepper. The flavour is filled with white pepper, cocoa-rich dark chocolate, cinnamon, rum raisins, sweet tobacco and ripe dark cherries. It has an exceptionally long peppery, sweet and slightly bitter aftertaste. It requires food.
Tommasi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2016 consists of four different grapes: 50% Corvina Veronese, 30% Rondinella, 15% Corvinone and 5% Oseleta. The soil on which the grapes grow consists of limestone and lime-rich soils. The grapes are harvested and selected by hand. The special with the Amarone-wines is that their grapes (whole bunches of grapes) go through so-called appassimento process, the process during which the grapes are dried for approximately 90 to 120 days. The grapes for this wine have been dried for 90 days. The drying makes the water content of the grapes to decrease and the sugar content, the concentration and the flavour richness of the grapes to increase. After the drying, the grapes are destemmed and pressed, and their must is macerated/fermented at a controlled temperature between 25 and 30°C in stainless steel tanks for 25 days. After the maceration and the fermentation, the wine is aged in 3,500 to 6,500 litres Slavonian (Croatian) oak barrels for 36 months and finally in bottles for a few weeks.
Tommasi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2016 will be developed up to six years i.e., up to 2027. It should be drunk from large Bordeaux glasses, if possible, from Orrefors, Kosta Boda, Spiegelau or Riedel, but before that it should be aired at least for 90 minutes. Parmesan, Grana Padano, Västerbotten cheese, Cheddar, grilled entrecote with potato gratin, reindeer stew with buttery mashed potatoes (or jasmine rice) and rich Boeuf Bourguignon (Beef Bourguignon) are recommended to the wine. It should be drunk at 18 to 19°C.
