Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva2003

Amarone della Valpolicella is a rich, dry Italian red wine from the Veneto region. It is produced primarily from the Corvina grape. Amarone is characterized by ripe, bold flavors. Directly after harvest, the grapes are air dried through a process called “appassimento”, which allows them to shrivel into raisins. This concentrates the sugar and flavors in the grapes, producing a distinctive and full-bodied wine well-suited to aging. It is often said that you can safely forget an Amarone in your wine cellar. Even average Amarones can be aged for 10-15 years. Depending on the vintage and aging technique, wines of exceptional quality can be enjoyed up to 30-50 years after bottling! In wine, time equals money. The aging process, manual labor, and prime grape-growing real estate mean that Amarone is often quite expensive. Bottles of this iconic wine generally start at $50-$60, but the sky's the limit when it comes to price. Despite its iconic status, Amarone only received DOCG recognition as recently as 2009. Amarone is best paired with very rich foods, due to its strong flavor profile, robust nature, and high alcohol (minimum 14% abv).