2010 Cesari Il Bosco Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 750 ml

Brunello and Barolo may get all the hype, but for lovers of big reds, Amarone should really be your first stop in Italy. The process of creating the wine takes sacrifice, patience, and intense know-how. The results, especially in the Classico zone, can be mind-boggling. Exhibit A: Cesari’s 2010 “Il Bosco” Amarone — a rich, powerful red that Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate calls “opulent and layered,” and “smooth and rich,” noting that the winery has really “hit its stride” with this vintage before pinning 94-points on this monumental wine. Our Chief Wine Officer, Matt Deller MW sums up nicely: “Amarone are some of the most deeply satisfying red wines in the world, what the Italians call vino da meditazione — amazing for meditating over with slow cooked meats and hard cheeses. Cesari’s Il Bosco is an outstanding example.” Amarone this affordable is rare, to say nothing of one with a seven years of cellaring, from small 9.8-acre single vineyard parcel in the heart of the Classico zone.

In the last 30 years, the The Wine Advocate has only heralded two other vintages in Amarone with the same 94-point vintage rating as 2010, which also happens to be the HIGHEST vintage rating the Advocate has ever awarded wines from Valpolicella.

One of the unfortunate realities of producing great Amarone takes hold in the vineyard where a great producer like Cesari has to work just as hard to produce perfect grapes, but ends up with roughly 40 percent less wine — the result of letting the grapes raisinate on straw mats, to concentrated flavors. So Amarone usually comes with an attendant high price-tag. If you’ve never had great Amarone, or if you’re well-acquainted and looking for something to drink while your Quintarellis and Dal Fornos come around in the cellar, the 2010 Cesari Il Bosco’s “careful balance” and “beautiful precision” are just for you.